Somewhere Far Away
by fireflower815
Summary: Once upon a time in the Enchanted Forest there was a brother and a sister named Kyra and Felix. How did Pan's most loyal Lost Boy really end up forever in Neverland? Kyra will fight to keep her brother even as Pan begins to turn Felix into a Lost Boy. But will Kyra's most dangerous war be her war with Pan, or her war with herself?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Thanks for reading my fanfic! Please review!**

I jumped up on the lowest slat of the tall wooden fence, climbing up so I could sling a leg over the top. Pausing as I straddled the fence, I looked back down at my brother, raising an eyebrow.

"Coming?" I teased. "Or are you too scared?" My brother stared up at the fence, gray eyes wide. He had always been more timid than me. Of course, I was tall and strong for my age, even though I was thin. Felix, my brother, was skinny in a way that was not strong at all. He had legs too long for his own good, and was always tripping over his feet. Me, I was the graceful one. A natural at swordplay. Felix cut himself with his own sword every time he picked one up.

"This isn't a good idea," Felix said, still eyeing the fence dubiously. He had a way of going completely still when he was nervous, and he froze up now. Only his messy blond hair moved, blowing sideways in the chilly wind.

"Of course it isn't. That's what makes it fun," I replied with a small laugh, holding out hand to help Felix up. Reluctantly, he took it, pulling himself onto the wooden beams with an over exaggerated groan.

"Sure. Fun," he said unhappily, clinging tightly to the fence with his pale hands. I just smiled, swinging my other leg over the fence and jumping to the ground lightly, absorbing the shock easily by leaning forward slightly as I landed. Felix followed suit, clambering clumsily over the wooden fence. He leapt to the ground, stumbling forward as he made contact with the ground. Felix lost his balance, sprawling over into the cold, hardened mud.

"Yeah. Pretty much the most fun you'll ever have," I chuckled. Felix glared at me from the ground, and I tried to hold back another laugh. He had clumps of dried mud in his rat nest of hair. And was that a feather? Felix heaved himself to his feet, brushing crinkly leaves off his tunic.

"Remind me why we're raiding a farm again?" Felix growled, picking mud out of his hair.

"Why not? Besides, you'll love it. You never forget your first time," I said cheerfully, clapping him on the shoulder.

"Yes. I'm pretty sure I will never forget this," he replied dryly. "The time I tripped as I jumped down from a fence and got mud stuck in my hair. Thanks for the wonderful experience, dear sister. Can we go now?"

"Leave? But the fun has barely started," I grinned, slinging my rucksack down from my back. I opened the roughly sewn drawstring sack, removing two daggers in dull leather sheathes. I tossed one of them to Felix, who naturally yelped and snatched his fingers back.

"So now you're tossing knives at me, Kyra?" he asked angrily. I rolled my eyes, tucking my own dagger into my belt.

"Don't be an idiot, Felix. It's sheathed," I explained impatiently. He just huffed, bending over to pick up the knife from the long grass and shaking pieces of grass off of it. He drew the dagger from its sheathe, flicking it lightly to test its balance. Felix glanced at me, faintly surprised.

"Perfect balance," he remarked. "Where did you get these?" I may have been better with a sword and anything that involved fine feet movement, but Felix was a master at knife work. Throwing knives, hand-to-hand combat with one knife and two knives. Anything at all, so long as he didn't have to move his feet. Whenever he did have to move in dagger training, he would trip almost immediately. It was very pathetic, but also adorable.

"Oh, I got them from a friend," I lied vaguely. In fact, I had stolen these daggers from another house, but Felix didn't need to know that.

"Nice friend," Felix raised his eyebrows, sheathing his dagger and tucking it in his own belt. "So lead on, Master Thief." I smirked, turning to glance at the old farmhouse we were about to rob. Normally Felix would never steal, but we were getting desperate. Father had lost his job again, and he didn't know when he would be able to find a new one. And Mother, of course, was long gone. She ran away when I was five and Felix was seven. Father tried his best, but it was hard on him to care for two unruly kids, especially now that me and Felix were full-fledged teenagers, him sixteen and me the tender age of fourteen. I had started my long career of thievery a year after Mother left us. I stole a peppermint from the candy store. Felix caught me before I could eat it and made me return it to the very irritated shopkeeper, but that hadn't deterred me in the least. I kept thieving. Sure, Felix caught me a few times, but as I got older as I also got far more careful. I planned my robberies instead of just stealing on a whim. I think Felix suspected it, but he turned a blind eye when I snuck in the back door home late at night with a bag of stolen goods in my hands. We all needed the extra food.

With difficulty, I snapped myself out of my thoughts and let out a long breath, staring at the farmhouse, fingering my dagger. It was a big, old building, freshly painted, the surrounding fields dotted with sweeping willow trees that whispered in the wind. It would be beautiful in summer no doubt, but now, in November, the land was various shades of brown, dark green, and gray. It was... haunting, especially with this whistling wind. No doubt that damn wind was what was setting my nerves on edge.

"Okay," I said to Felix after a moment's thought. "It's got one main floor, a cellar, and a large attic. Oh, and the stables. Don't bother with the attic; there's nothing up there but cobwebs long since abandoned by their eight-legged residents. Our targets on the main floor are the kitchen and the cellar."

"The cellar? Why the cellar?" Felix asked curiously.

"Basic thief's trick. The kitchen is the obvious place to hit, but most people store food in their cellars as well. All sorts of goodies down there," I explained quickly. Normally I was more carefree, but when it came to thievery I got down to business. I was a professional.

"How many times have you done this? Stealing, I mean?" Felix asked. His face was nearly expressionless, but he was gripping the hilt of his dagger so tightly that his fingers were turning white.

"Hey," I said reassuringly. "It'll be okay." Felix didn't say anything, just stared intently at the lonely-looking house.

"Well, then, what are we waiting for? Let's go," Felix snapped, starting towards the house. I grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks.

"Whoa there. Slow down, Captain Bossy-Pants. Let the Master Thief lead the way," I said calmly, walking at a diagonal angle to the house. "We have to approach from the side. Unless you want to stroll up to the front door." Even though Felix was behind me, I could practically feel him rolling his eyes.

"Yes, Master. I hear and obey," he muttered.

"Shut up, Felix. Whoever's in the house might hear us," I told him. He didn't say anything more, but I knew he was stewing with anger because his little sister had just ordered him to shut his mouth. We crept through the tall grass, our simple natural-toned clothes helping us blend in. I motioned for Felix to stop by a willow tree, but Felix being that the klutz that he was, he stumbled into me as I stopped. I spun around to glare at him, but I managed not to yell at him. This close to the house, we shouldn't speak unless absolutely necessary. We crouched in the shadow of the enormous willow.

"We'll approach from the stables," I whispered so softly it could barely be heard over the whistling wind. "There's a window on that side of the house that's low enough to climb through. I stuck a pebble underneath it when I was scoping the place out so the window wouldn't close." Felix raised an eyebrow at me, mouthing the words "_Master Thief"_. I grinned before rising smoothly to my feet and starting towards the stables, gesturing for Felix to follow. Surprisingly, Felix managed to follow me without tripping over his own feet. Dry grass crumpled beneath his feet in an irritatingly loud crinkling sound, but I tried to ignore it. Not everyone had the quiet tread of a thief mastered. Honestly, I wasn't sure why Felix had even agreed to come with me. He was no thief, and he certainly didn't approve of it either. But I guess that he figured we could carry more loot back home if there were two of us. I didn't mind having some company, even if said company was an obnoxious boy who was too loud and tripped over everything he could. Stealing could get a bit lonely. It called for hours of reconnaissance in the dark hours of the morning, and yet more hours of waiting patiently in unbearably small hiding places. But it was worth it when I put more food on the table, even though Felix would shoot me worried glances and ask me where I got the food. It was worth it to help my family, even if it was against the law and I could be put to death for all the things I had stolen.

Felix and I reached the wooden outer wall of the stables. It was old wood, stained with years of weathering storms. A groan ran through the ancient building as a chilling gale swept through it. Felix looked sideways at me.

"Are you sure we should be doing this? Whoever lives here might need the money," Felix worried. I sighed, peering around the corner of the stables. No people in sight.

"Look, Felix. The old lady who lives here is older than Grandmother. She has a few years left at most, maybe even less, and she's as rich as King Midas. She won't miss a few coins or loaves of bread," I soothed in a whisper. "Now, will you shut your damn mouth, or do you want to wait at the stables like a coward while your little sister does the hard work?" Felix's jaw clenched, and he opened his mouth to say something, but I held my hand up, stopping him before he could speak.

"Ah!" I cut him off in a sharp whisper. "No talking." I slipped around the corner into the barn, my vision slowly adjusting to the half-light. I checked the stables meticulously as Felix slipped into the barn after me. There were no horses stabled here. Good. The old lady might be out of the house, going into town or somewhere. If she wasn't here, our job was that much easier.

"Did you hear something?" Felix asked suddenly. I glared at him and opened my mouth to hush him again, but something in his face stopped me. He wasn't playing a trick. He wasn't letting his nervousness get to him. Felix actually looked genuinely frightened.

"Hear what?" I said. Felix was about to answer when I heard it too. It was a neigh. A horse's neigh. From the direction of the house. Cursing under my breath, I grabbed Felix's hand and dragged him into the shadows of the barn, behind a stack of hay and a thick swath of cobwebs.

"Is it the lady coming back from... wherever?" Felix questioned.

"I don't know," I replied, and then we fell silent, waiting in tense quiet for whatever was coming our way. But I heard another whinny, and I realized the horse wasn't coming closer to the stables. I crept out cautiously from the enormous pile of hay, brushing spider webs from my hair.

"What is it? Kyra?" Felix asked. Finally, I got to the door of the barn and peeked out. Sure enough, a horse was pacing in front of the house, snorting anxiously, but there was no rider on its back. As I looked, I realized that while the horse wore a saddle, the saddle was torn askew, hanging crooked as if the rider had been pulled forcibly away from the steed. And the saddle was in tatters, clawed nearly to shreds. Jesus Christ. And where was the old lady?

"Felix, come here," I said in a small voice. Felix stepped out from the shadows, shaking hay from his hair, a puzzled look on his face.

"What's got you so worked up? I don't see-" Felix instantly froze as he caught sight of the horse. A lone strand of straw dangled from his hair. Normally I would've found that funny, but not now.

"Jesus Christ," Felix echoed my thoughts. Then he darted forward, sprinting towards the horse. I caught him by the shoulder, jerking him backwards. Felix twisted to glare daggers at me.

"This isn't a time to be selfish, Kyra, thieves or no," he hissed. "Something's happened to that poor old lady." Felix jerked away from my grip, running to the horse. I just watched for a moment, my arm still outstretched, fingers still curled around the air where Felix's arm had been. I shook off my daze, running after Felix. He was in front of the horse, trying to soothe it with soft words. I glanced nervously at the house. We were directly in front of it now, and its blank black windows seemed to stare back at me like dark eyes. I felt so exposed. Something strange was going on here, and we were in plain sight for all to see.

"Felix,'" I said nervously. "Felix. We should leave."

"No," he spat back with surprisingly intense venom. But then, maybe I shouldn't have been surprised. Felix always got so forceful when it came to helping others. He didn't believe in letting anyone suffer. My gaze flicked to the crazed stallion. Its eyes were wild with fear, but at least it wasn't rearing up on its hind legs anymore. I crept only a bit closer to look at the torn saddle. I gasped, stifling the sound by clapping a hand over my mouth.

"Felix," I croaked. "Blood." He whipped around to stare at the saddle, and more importantly the bloodstain on it. I followed the trail of crimson droplets with my eyes. They dotted the powdery dirt, forming a trail that led directly to the house. I stared at the house. Something was very wrong here.

"We have to go in there. Now," Felix snapped. "Where's that window?" I couldn't reply. My throat seemed to swell up, and I could barely breathe. All I could do was stare at the house. "Kyra!" Felix yelled, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me back to reality. "The window! Where is it?" I swallowed hard.

"This way," I said shortly, dashing towards the house. Felix was right on my heels, his breath coming in short pants. For some reason, I was still breathing smoothly. The entire situation seemed surreal, almost as if this were a story I was reading instead of my actual life. After a few minutes, we reached the window. But it was not as I had left it. The pebble I had used to prop it open wasn't there. In fact, the window wasn't there at all. Glass was scattered around the opening, now just a gap in the wall, shards that reflected the gray clouds circling overhead. A few pieces of the glass still clung to the window frame. Someone had already broken in, before Felix and I were here.

"I'm guessing that wasn't your handiwork," Felix remarked. I shook my head, and Felix hoisted himself up to the windowsill, carefully avoiding the remaining glass.

"Felix, this is a really bad idea," I said, mortified when I heard that my voice was shaking.

"Yeah. That's what makes it fun," Felix used my own words from earlier today. "Coming?" I grabbed the windowsill and pulled myself up and into the house, wincing as my hand grazed a stray shard. It cut a thin line across my palm that began to ooze blood slowly. I wrapped my sleeve around the cut, trying to stanch the bleeding.

"You okay?" Felix asked. I nodded, momentarily pulling back my sleeve to glance at the cut. It was thin, which was a good sign. I shoved my sleeve back down and scanned the surroundings. We appeared to be in some sort of parlor. The wallpaper was floral and sickeningly pink, and the room was dotted with uncomfortable-looking chairs and small tables layered with dust. More shards of glass littered the floor, along with muddy shoeprints. I knelt down to inspect one.

"Boot prints," I said, glancing back up at Felix. "Whoever broke in wasn't trying to cover their tracks." I rose to my feet, an ominous feeling pricking at the back of my brain. But there was no stopping Felix now. He stalked forward into the hallway outside the parlor, and I winced as he stepped on a creaky floorboard that squeaked in shrill protest under his weight. A small hiss of air escaped my clenched teeth, and Felix looked back to give me a comforting smile. I did my best to smile back, but I was pretty sure it was more of a grimace. Felix followed the trail of footprints, which were also dotted with splotches of blood. Then he froze. I peered around him. We were stopped in front of a room. The door was slightly ajar, as if someone had kicked it shut but hadn't bothered to make sure it was shut all the way. I raised an eyebrow at Felix, and he gestured at the ground. I looked down. Sure enough, the boot prints led straight into this room. There were no tracks leading out. The intruder was still in this room.

"Where is it?" I heard someone yell from the other side of the door. It was a male voice. Young, by the sound of it. Angry.

"I don't know," another voice sobbed. This person was old. Female. The old lady. I glanced at Felix. His jaw was clenched, his gray eyes dark with fury. In his eyes, there was nothing worse than hurting a defenseless, innocent person. And in this situation, I happened to agree. We were both furious at whoever was hurting a poor old lady. However, I pressed a finger to my lips, warning Felix to stay silent. I wanted to listen and find out what exactly was going on.

"Don't bother, darling. We both know that's a lie," the male voice snarled. There was a loud crash, and the old lady let out a shriek. It was all I could do to stop myself from rushing in the room. But we had to listen. I had to know.

"H-he never told me a-anything," the woman stuttered.

"Nonsense," said the man, his voice now deceptively calm instead of full of rage. "You were the Dark One's ally. He must've told you something." _The Dark One?_ Felix and I exchanged an anxious glance. Everyone knew of Rumpelstiltskin and his terrible magic. If this was about magic, Felix and I had to leave now. Magic was dangerous. It did terrible things. Amazing things, but terrible things. Getting mixed up in magic resulted in nothing but tragedy. I tugged on Felix's sleeve, gesturing for us to go back the way we had come, but he shook his head adamantly. We were staying.

"I swear, it's the truth," the old lady whimpered. "I know nothing of the Dark One's affairs. I haven't seen him in decades."

"That may be true, but there was a time when you were," the young man said. "You helped the Dark One obtain a certain object. An object that happens to be very important to me."

"Y-y don't understand," she cried. "He cast a spell on me. I c-can't tell you."

"Well then, darling, you're useless to me. And do you want to know what I do with useless things?" the man drawled. Well, that was a death threat if I ever heard one. Felix's eyes widened as he came to the same realization, and all at once we ran into the room, not bothering to stop and confer. We both knew that we couldn't let this boy hurt the poor old lady. Felix kicked the door wide open, and barged into the room. He drew his dagger, pointing it straight at the boy. I drew my dagger as well, but I hung back a bit, surveying the scene. The old lady was in an fussy purple dress, her cloud of gray curls piled around her head. She lay sprawled on this floor, her arms and face dripping blood, her green eyes wide with terror as she laid among the remains of various broken clay pots. Well that explained the crashing sound. I assumed a defensive posture in front of her, watching as Felix faced down the man. Well, really, he was only a boy, looking to be only a year or so older than Felix. He was wearing patchy green clothes and lace-up boots. A dagger and, strangely enough, some sort of flute hung from his belt, but he didn't bother drawing his knife. He just watched Felix with a dark, amused smirk, a half-smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, which were blue-gray and cold as ice. His hair was light-brown, almost dirty blond. Actually, he looked rather normal, discounting the flute and those bone-chilling eyes. Even though Felix was pointing a dagger at his neck, the boy glanced at me for a moment before looking back at Felix, as if weighing every possible move. The old lady quivered on the floor.

"Who are you?" Felix demanded. The boy's grin widened.

"Let me introduce myself," he said swiftly. "I'm Peter. Peter Pan."

"Why are you bothering this defenseless old lady?" Felix asked angrily.

"No, that's not fair. You don't get to ask two questions in a row. You ask a question, I ask a question. Fair's fair," Pan smirked yet again. Damn. Was that the only expression he knew?

"Fine," Felix growled, probably figuring it was best to play the psycho's game in order to get answers out of him. "What do you want to know, Pan?"

"What's your name?" Pan said simply. It was such an ordinary question, it seemed ridiculous that it would come out of Pan's mouth. I had to stifle a laugh at that, but it was probably because of hysteria. After a surge of adrenaline, oftentimes I would start laughing because my mind needed an escape from the trauma. But I could not laugh nw. The situation was far too serious. I bit my lip, trapping the laugh inside me.

"Felix," my brother answered shortly.

"Felix," psycho Pan nodded slowly. "It has a nice ring to it. And what's her name?" he asked, gesturing at me.

"That's not how it works," Felix said coldly. "One question, one answer. It's my turn." Pan sighed deeply.

"I'm afraid I don't have time for these games, my friend," Pan said wistfully, as if he were actually saddened. "Now I suggest you and your sister get out of my way. I wouldn't want anyone to get hurt."

"Not gonna happen," I spat, feeling a strong urge to slap that smirk off his arrogant face.

"Ah, the princess speaks!" Pan announced. "I admire your bravery, darling, but I'm afraid that you will be getting out of my way, one way or another."

"Don't you dare call my sister darling," Felix snarled, pressing the blade harder against Pan's throat.

"Well, then, have it your way," Pan flicked his wrist and Felix and I both flew sideways, smashing into the wall. I screamed as I hit the wall, my arm crushed between me and the wall and a sharp pain blooming in my ankle. I collapsed, tears blurring m vision. Pan had magic? Damn. Damn. Felix and I were both screwed. We were both decent fighters, but neither of us could fight something so powerful. I cradled my arm against me, not daring to stand and put weight on my injured leg. I looked up, and I saw Felix lying still a few feet away. In the background, I could hear the old lady screaming, but I was too worried about Felix to even notice. When the lady's screams fell silent and she slumped lifelessly to the floor, I still didn't take my eyes off my brother. He was lying still, far too still. I pressed my ear against his chest, listening for a heartbeat. Oh, thank God. He was alive, his heart pounding away. Felix was just knocked out.

But the old lady... I turned to see her. How had I just sat there and disregarded her as she screamed with the pain of death? How had I ignored her? Was I so cruel, so hardened?

"I'm sorry," I whispered to her. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you."

"There's nothing you could've done," Pan said. If he had been anyone else, I would've thought he was consoling me. But I could hear his taunt running beneath his soothing tone.

"Stay away from me and my brother!" I screamed, blocking Felix so Pan couldn't get to him. Pan smiled.

"Though your effort is valiant, it is also pointless," he said. "You and are brother are coming with me." Pan waved his hand, and the world around me started to go black around the edges. No... it was some kind of spell to make me pass out. I tried to fight it, but my eyelids fell shut of their own accord, each one weighing more than a brick. My legs turned to jelly and buckled beneath me. I fell sideways, my head cracking against the floor as Pan chuckled.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Please review. Also, thanks for the favorites and follows. I really appreciate it.**

_ "I want it gone," I said to Mella. "Take my magic. I don't want it." Pained, she looked at me with an apologetic shrug. We were back in the her castle again, me slumped in one of the uncomfortable stone chairs. Jesus Christ, magic was really exhausting. My eyelids felt like they weigh a hundred pounds each._

_ "I can't take it from you," Mella said. "Your magic is irrevocably a part of you. Besides, magic isn't so terrible." I rolled my eyes. _

_ "Mella, magic is spectacular and all, but it's not me. It makes me feel like someone else and not in a good way. And I would still have this magic if I crossed into another world?" _

_ "Yes," Mella said, "yes, you most certainly would. Magic crosses the bridge between worlds quite easily. That's how the magical amulet Pan wants so much was probably created, by the way. The magic used to move you from one world to another doesn't just dissipate; it's pretty strong stuff. It shifted into a physical form, some of it making the amulet and the rest of it pouring into you. So, that's why you have magic, too," she explained. My hands flew to my neck, fingering the amulet that hung there. It was metal, a sort of silvery-blue metal carved in the shape of a roaring fire._

_ "Undo it!" I said, shakily rising from the chair and forcing my hand away from the necklace. "If it can be done, it can be undone." _

_ Mella shook her head sadly, "It's just not possible, Kyra." I snarled and turn away, staring out the windows at the ocean. All this talk about crossing to another realm was idiotic when really... I just wanted want to go home. _

_ "I had a home with a father and a mother," I said softly. "Really, Mella, I did. Mother would tell me stories at bedtime. She always smelled like cinnamon and cotton. Father played the fiddle in front of the fireplace on cold winter nights. The night I fell through some kind of portal into this world, I was walking through the woods on my way home. I was a normal girl who just wanted a happy life. But when I fell through that portal, that was taken from me. It gave me magical powers. I can't go back, Mella. I just can't. My parents are gone and buried now, after what Pan did. I would be a freak, someone to laugh at, with no one who cared about me." I felt tears start to form in my eyes and hurriedly wiped them away. I stared out the sea to distract myself. The waves, how pretty, the sun on the waves. Don't see the details- see the big picture. Big picture. Details are too dangerous. If you look at the details _

_You_

_Might_

_Just _

_Break_

_Break into pieces, and all the King's horses and all the King's men couldn't put little Kyra back together again. Mella stayed quiet, like she knew I don't want to hear the apology I'd heard so many times. I'm sorry for your loss. _

_ "I'm sorry for your loss," someone said. It was not Mella, no. I saw Mella whipping around in surprise, too. Then I saw the boy sitting in Maleficent's ornate throne, grinning sardonically at Mella and me. _

_ "Peter Pan," I say. "Go to hell." He raises an eyebrow. _

_ "Good to see you, too," Peter said, tracing a line on the elaborate chair absentmindedly. "I hear you have a problem with magic, yes? A little too much magic for your own good." Then he was standing only a few feet away without having ever moved from the chair, studying me with keen green eyes. _

_ "I can take it all away, you know. All that magic you never really asked for, spreading under your skin like a disease." He touched my elbow lightly, as if testing my skin for the so-called disease. I swung a hard punch at him, but he disappeared with a laugh before it connected and reappeared in front of me again. _

_ "Kyra," Mella warned, "Don't trust him. You know what he did to your family-" Then her lips moved but no sound came out, like she was on a T.V. program that had just been muted. _

_ "Ah, that's better," Peter said cheerfully. "You always did talk too much, Maleficent. You see, it's Kyra I want to talk to." _

_ "And why would I want to talk to you? I'm not stupid enough to trust you. Not after last time," I hissed between clenched teeth. _

_ "You're an orphan," he said, suddenly serious. "I've always had a thing for orphans." I rolled my eyes. _

_ "Peter, really," I said, "this isn't about magic again. Isn't it?" _

_ "Everything is about magic," Peter told me. "You understand, don't you? You don't have to get rid of your magic. Those ignorant people in your world will never love you, they will never care about you; everyone who might've loved you is dead. So don't go to a place where your magic will be shunned, a place where they'll call you a freak. Join the Lost Boys. We're all 'freaks', and we understand what's it's like to be an outsider. Plus, we're going to Neverland soon. Neverland is a place with no end of magic, Kyra, and I can teach you magic. You'll fit right in for the first time in your life." _

_ "I'm not going to Neverland," I said vehemently. "Especially not with the Lost Boys, Peter."_

_ "Fine, then. Have it your way. If you don't want to go to Neverland, if you really want to get rid of your magic- fine. You don't need to trust me," Peter said solemnly. He waves his hand a vial full of a purple-ish liquid appeared in his palm. "You just need to trust Rumpelstiltskin. He's the one who brewed this lovely potion, you see. It will take your magic away," he said earnestly. _

_ "Yeah, right. What's the secret ingredient that's going to make me drop dead? " I asked sarcastically, not budging an inch. "And what's in it for you?" _

_ "Oh, the joy of helping others, of course," Peter smiled. _

_ "Really," I said flatly, "what kind of an idiot do you take me for?" Peter smirked at me, grabbing my wrist and pressing the little bottle into my hand. _

_ "A very pretty one," he said. "Just think about it." Then he vanished, and suddenly I could hear Maleficent again, yelling at the top of her lungs not to trust Peter Pan._

_ "Do you think I should drink it, Mella?" I asked her, weighing the vial in my hand. She shook her head swiftly. _

_ "No. You can't trust Peter, Kyra," Mella replied fervently. "You know how he practically begged you to go to Neverland so he can teach you magic? He wants to use your magic for something. My guess is that potion is another way to get what he wants if he couldn't convince you to go to Neverland." _

_ "Maybe," I said, "maybe. But if there's a chance, even the slightest chance that he's telling the truth, I have to take it. Magic destroyed everything I cared about. I don't want it to destroy me, too." My fingers shook slightly as I fumble with the cork sealing the vial, but it soon popped out and I stuffed it in my pocket. Sniffing the bottle experimentally, I could feel Mella watching me with wary eyes, ready to knock the bottle out of my hands if I suddenly collapsed. It smelled pleasantly sweet, like flowers with faint undertones of brown sugar and cinnamon. Grinning nervously at Mella, I tilted my head back and downed the contents in a single gulp, wiping my mouth on my sleeve. For a moment a glow of heat rose inside me, the glow of magic, but then the room feels cold, so cold, and I started to shiver. Someone was rubbing snow on my arms, pressing ice against my ice, and I couldn't feel my arms... couldn't feel my legs... couldn't feel... The world grew darker and darker, like the sun setting in the winter, and I couldn't breathe. The ice had frozen my throat. _

_ "Fire," I tried to tell Mella. I needed fire. The word rasped out of my throat weakly, a whisper lost in the blizzard. Fire sputtered feebly over my fingers, a tattered remnant of my magic. The magic Peter took... magic Peter took... Peter took... took... gone. I opened my eyes, but there was nothing to see but darkness. I tried to take a breath, but there was no air. I only breathed in poison. The toxic emptiness filled my lungs as I struggled to swallow the venom that filled my mouth. It was dark, dark poison, darker than blood. Black as ebony. I was choking on it. The world seemed to fade before me, and I knew this was the end._

I jerked awake from the terrible nightmare, gasping for breath, my leg flying out in a reflexive kick. When some people woke up, they would sit up and open their eyes immediately. Yawning, stretching, grumbling, whatever it was normal people did. Not me. I had made it part of being a master thief: I was always dead quiet, even when I was sleeping. Even when I woke up. Except today, apparently. Except the days I had the dreams. I had been having these dreams for as long as I could remember, dreams of another life I had no memory of. Which made me wonder if they were memories...? And now, now that I knew there was actually a person named Peter Pan, the nightmares seemed all too real. Especially since the Peter Pan from my nightmares looked exactly the same as the real-life Pan.

The moment I calmed down from my dream, I recovered my Master Thief instincts. I laid still and didn't move an inch. I didn't open my eyes, instead taking in my surroundings through the senses of touch and sound. First touch. I could tell immediately that I was lying on the ground, more specifically on dirt. The air was humid, warm and moist on my face. But what caught my attention was my wrists. I rubbed them together ever so slightly to make sure. I was right. My wrists were tied together with rough rope. My heart began to speed up at that, but I shoved it aside and concentrated on sound. I listened carefully. Mostly quiet, but not silent by any means. I could hear leaves whispering in the wind and trees creaking. More importantly, I could hear the distant sounds of people. I could only catch the occasional laugh or shout because I was too far away to make out any words. I was probably only an eighth of a mile away.

Great. I knew I was in the middle of the woods with my wrists tied. I usually tried to be an optimist, but this situation was really making it difficult. I realized that I was going to have to move sooner or later, so I warily opened my eyes and pulled myself into as sitting position. My eyes slowly adjusted to the half-light. It appeared to be night-time, and my theory had been right. I was in the forest. I looked around, but all I could see was the small clearing I was in and, of course, trees. Lots and lots of trees, the kind that were so tall and leafy that they seemed to close in on me, trapping me. Ooh. A leafy cage. I was giving myself nightmares on a silver platter. Did I ever mention how much I hated forests? My hands were bound above my head, no doubt binding me to a damn _tree_, and I could barely move three inches to either side. Someone here was good at tying knots.

My head throbbed, I was pretty sure my arm was broken, and my ankle was aching. I grimaced, but I did my best to ignore it. I had to stay calm and evaluate the situation with a level head. Ohhh-kay. Creepy trees. Hands tied. Terrible headache. Broken arm. Injured ankle. Hmm... so far, I was not liking my chances. And... oh shit. Where was Felix? I leaned forward, straining against my bonds even though my broken arm screamed at me to stop. Tears pricked at my eyes as my arm bent unnaturally. I let out a whimper, still fighting against the rope knots.

"Felix! Felix!" I yelled into the trees. "Hey, Felix, you useless asshole! Felix! Come on, Felix!" My only answer was the whisper of wind through the trees. Jesus Christ. Clearly, the crazy Pan guy had kidnapped me, bringing me to the middle of the woods. But where was my brother? If Pan had hurt him, he would pay dearly for it.

"Felix! Where are you, Felix?" I continued to shout. "Where did you take him, Pan? Peter Pan! Answer me, you crazy bastard, you insane son of a-"

"That's not very nice," a voice chided me. I recognized it instantly. Pan, of course. Who else? He stalked into view from behind a tree on the far side of the small clearing, about fifteen feet away. Pan crossed his arms, regarding me calmly.

"I wasn't aiming for nice," I growled. "Who the hell do you think you are?" Pan just smiled.

"So it's true. You really don't remember anything. Keep insulting me, darling. It won't get you anywhere," he said, amused.

"What do you mean, remember? I'm in the middle of the freaking woods. What _will_ get me anywhere?" I said angrily. Felix would be proud if he could see me now, taunting Pan. But breath caught in my throat as Pan disappeared, then materialized right in front of me. His eyes were cold, full of so much darkness and anger that I unconsciously backed away, trying to backpedal through the tree I was tied to in order to get away.

"You don't have power. Not anymore. Listening to me is the only thing that gets you where you want to go on this island," Pan growled. We were on an island? Damn. I swallowed hard, and Pan took my silence as agreement. "Good girl," he said mockingly as I struggled not to tremble. Almost faster than my eyes could follow, Pan reached out and ran his hand down my broken arm. Tears sprang to my eyes. I tried to jerk away, but Pan grabbed my wrist with his other hand.

"Look," he said, nodding at my arm. I looked. My arm was glowing green-blue where Pan was touching it, and even as I watched the strange aura brightened. Slowly, gradually, the pain began to fade, and that's when I realized what Pan was doing (other than making my arm glow, that is). He was healing me. But why? All I could do was stare as the last of the pain vanished, and the green aura disappeared as suddenly as it had come. Pan dropped the hand he had healed me with, but still held onto my wrist, looking me straight in the eyes.

"Listen to me. In two minutes, your dear '_brother_' Felix is going to walk through the trees on the left side of the clearing with another boy," Pan said, for some reason saying the word brother with disdain. My heart leaped at the thought of seeing my brother, but I knew Pan was a psycho creep who would never do something nice intentionally. He wasn't just going to let me see my brother for the hell of it.

"What's the catch?" I grumbled.

"You catch on quickly," Pan raised an eyebrow. "I'm going to untie your hands. When I do, when Felix walks into this place, you are going to pretend that you want to stay in Neverland forever. You are going to pretend that this place is like home to you. Do whatever you have to do. Make it as convincing as possible." I stared up at Pan, who was still holding my wrist, my eyes wide. Why would Pan ask me to lie to Felix? What did he possibly have to gain?

"Why?" I asked, my voice rough and dry. Pan unsheathed a dagger that was hanging from his belt, tapping his index finger on the flat of it as he pretended to think.

"Oh, I don't know," Pan said lightly, cutting the rope on my hands apart with one smooth stroke. He pulled me to my feet so quickly my head spun, and I stumbled forward. Before I could regain my balance, Pan did it for me, placing a steadying hand on my shoulder. "Because I said so," Pan said softly as he steadied me. I shivered at the ominous words as well as his icy breath next to my ear. But as soon as Pan uttered those words, he was walking away, moving to lean casually against a tree, sheathing his knife as he went.

"How long do I have to lie to Felix?" I asked grimly. Pan smirked.

"As long as it takes," he answered, grabbing the pipe from his belt that I had noticed earlier, at the old lady's house. It was only now that I recognized it as a pan flute. Was that where he got his name? Pan began to blow across the pan pipes nonchalantly, but I couldn't hear anything. Damn Peter Pan. Why did he keep giving me all these answers that only gave me more questions? And I still didn't know why Pan wanted me to lie in the first place. I opened my mouth to ask the obvious question- as long as what takes?- when the leaves on the opposite side of the clearing rustled. I snapped my jaw shut, listening as the rustling got closer. Pan stopped playing his pipes, and I heard two voices, both of them boys, and my breath quickened as I recognized one of them as Felix. My brother and a slightly shorter boy who I didn't know walked into the clearing, the unfamiliar boy holding a lantern in his right hand. Felix froze when he saw me, eyes wide in surprise, but he soon got over it and practically crushed me in a hug.

"Hey- Felix- I need to breathe," I choked out. Felix grinned and released me, holding me at arm's length and checking me for injuries.

"Are you okay?" Felix demanded. "Any broken bones?" I looked over Felix's shoulder at Pan, who shook his head very subtly. I wasn't allowed to tell Felix that Pan had broken my arm and then healed it.

"No," I lied quickly. "Just a little banged up. Nothing major." Felix sighed in relief, pulling me into yet another hug, this one slightly less suffocating than the last one. I felt an enormous icy weight settle in my heart as I realized exactly how much I was about to lie to my brother. Sure, I had lied plenty before, mostly to cover up my habit of thievery, but I had never thought of stealing as wrong. I had never stolen from anyone who had needed the money, and I took what I did to put food on the table for my family. But this felt wrong.

"I'm so glad you're okay," Felix murmured, finally letting me go.

"Hey, how are you doing?" I said as nonchalantly as I could. Turns out, that was enough. Felix's eyes lit up instantly.

"Oh, it's amazing here. There's all the Lost Boys. They're fun. And in Neverland, you can do impossible things. There's grand magic, and you can even fly if you have pixie dust," Felix babbled excitedly. I raised an eyebrow. I had never seen him this happy before. I couldn't believe had had forgotten that Pan had murdered that old lady this quickly. So this foresty island was called Neverland? Really? That was so fairy tale. I smiled weakly, unsure how to react. Felix said Neverland was wonderful, so clearly he wasn't being treated like a prisoner, tied to a freaking tree. So what, was Pan trying to convince Felix that Neverland was good or something? It sure sounded like it. As I came out of my deep train of thought, I realized that Felix had stopped talking and was staring at me, probably concerned that I wasn't replying.

"Oh yeah," I agreed rather unconvincingly. "Neverland. Great place. Lots of... uh... pixie dust. And trees. Isn't it such a wonderful place?" Behind Felix, Pan rolled his eyes, making a rolling gesture with one hand as if to say _yes, go on_. Next to him, the boy Felix had come here with stood patiently, still holding the lantern. The boy winked at me when he saw me looking at him. So he was in on Pan's master plan too? Just great. Just perfect. Felix was looking at me, worried.

"Are you sure you're okay, Kyra? You look a little... lost," Felix told me. For some reason, Pan smirked at that, but I did my best to ignore him and just focus on my brother.

"I'm terrific," I said brightly, flashing him a smile. "It's cute that you're worried though, Felix." Felix laughed, obviously relieved that I was back to my normal self, dishing out saucy one-liners again. Okay. It was time to make my act more convincing.

"And Felix, you'll never _be-lieve_ who I've been hanging out with," I gushed, practically skipping back to where Pan was standing. I linked arms with Pan, dragging him back over to where Felix was standing. To my amusement, Pan was taken aback, stumbling in surprise as I yanked him over.

"This is Peter," I said formally. "You know, Peter Pan? We met him at that lady's house, but he explained that was all just a big misunderstanding." I giggled, reaching out with my other hand to pat Pan on the head. _**Giggled**_. Until now, I had never actually giggled in my entire life. I shuddered inwardly at the sound, promising myself I would never do _that_ again. Despite his confusion at first, Pan quickly realized what I was doing. He smiled broadly at Felix, a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, and rolled his eyes good-naturedly.

"Girls," Pan complained jokingly. "What can you do?" Felix gave a half-smile at that, but his eyes were on me, still a bit puzzled. Oops. Maybe I shouldn't have giggled. Felix knew I wasn't normally this bubbly. Part of me hoped that he could tell I was acting, but I knew that Pan would probably kill me if Felix connected the dots. So I stood still, arms locked with Pan, grinning like my smile was painted on and praying that Felix would buy it.

To both my relief and horror, Felix shook his head, a knowing smirk on his face. Wait. _A knowing smirk?_ That wasn't like Felix at all. Then I realized how this must look to Felix. I got beat up, saw an old lady die, then I came to Neverland and suddenly became freaking Little Miss Sunshine. Oh God... I glanced sideways at Pan, and he was smirking too. Oh, Christ. Felix thought I was in love with Peter Pan. I pressed my lips together tightly to keep from gagging, but earnestly continued my little charade when Pan elbowed me sharply.

"So... Pan and I were hanging out?" I said weakly. "We, uh... he showed me how to throw a knife." Felix raised both eyebrows.

"Kyra, you already know how to throw a knife," Felix remarked, looking as though he were about to burst out laughing.

"But the _right_ way," I corrected. "And he told me all about Neverland."

"The pirates and the mermaids. She was especially interested in the mermaids," Pan added, turning his head to give me a big fake smile. I returned it.

"Yes, the mermaids," I gushed. "Oh, Peter said they were absolutely lovely."

"Okay then," Felix said, apparently satisfied. "Have fun with the, uh, knife throwing lessons. Come on, Loxias," he said to the boy with the lantern. Lantern Boy, I decided to call him. Felix turned back to the path, and I felt like he was abandoning me, a piece of my heart walking away. I watched them leave and I sighed heavily, forgetting who I was standing next to.

"Well, princess, I have to say I'm not disappointed," Pan said. "You played your part surprisingly well." Hissing in disgust, I moved away to the other side of the clearing. Of course, though, Pan just materialized in front of me, arms crossed.

"But you will have to do better," Pan said.

"You obviously want me to ask why. So please enlighten me, Pan. Why?" I said, hands on my hips. Pan stepped closer, staring me down.

"I want you to be so convincing that you convince all my Lost Boys you want to be here in Neverland. I want you to convince me," Pan said quietly.

"Again, I'll ask the obvious question. Why? Why do I have to be so damn convincing?" I demanded, copying Pan's pose by crossing my arms and glaring back at him. Pan slid sideways so he was standing beside me.

"Walk," he commanded, and because I wanted answers I walked. Forward, into the trees, who knew where. Trying to extract answers from a murderous psychopath. Lovely. After several minutes of walking in what might as well have been circles for all the sense of direction I had, I decided to break the ice. Or at least scrape the ice. Marginally.

"So... what's up?" I said nervously. Pan chuckled.

"Is that how people talk now? How... interesting," he remarked. Okay. Now I knew he was trying to drive me insane by not answering my questions. So rather than bother asking again, I just stopped walking. After a step, Pan realized I had halted and turned around, looking at me questioningly, but with a touch of anger.

"Come. Here. Now," Pan said.

"No," I replied. Pan narrowed his eyes.

"I would be careful, princess," he said. "You know I don't care about you in the slightest. One wave of my hand, and you're dead in the water."

"I know. But I also know that for some reason, you need Felix here. How are you going to manage that if I'm dead?" I countered. Pan stepped forward.

"You are a smart girl, Kyra," Pan said quietly, still inching closer. "And I know that you think Felix would never move on from your death. But I specialize in taking broken boys and making them Lost Boys. So watch yourself. And just know that if you don't convince me you want to be in Neverland, I can get rid of you. And no one, not even your dear brother, will miss you."


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks so much for reading. Please review!

"Get the hell away from me, Pan," I said quietly. Pan just looked at me.

"You're coming back to camp now," he said. I shrugged.

"Whatever," I said. Wherever this camp place was, that was where Felix was. And somehow I had to find a way to warn him about that Pan really was nothing but cold, blunt evil.

"So far, you're not doing a good job at convincing me you'd like to be here in Neverland," Pan replied bitingly. He was apparently was too cool for walking, so he waved his hand and a cloud of green mist engulfed us. When the weird misty stuff cleared away, we were in a large clearing, clustered with teenage boys who were laughing and talking to no end. There was a bonfire in the center of the chaos, and behind it stood a towering tree with twisted branches.

"Hey, did you pick the twisted tree for decoration because your soul is twisted?" I asked Pan. He just smirked at me and went to stand by the fire. He raised both arms dramatically, and instantly silence fell in the clearing. The boys turned from their various activities to look at Pan. He let his arms drop, and I crossed my arms skeptically as I loitered by the entrance of the campsite.

"Tonight we have a very special guest among us!" Pan announced, grinning and pacing around in small circles so he could see every single one of the Lost Boys as he spoke. A few of the Lost Boys cast curious glances at me, but most of them were fixated on Pan. What did he do, brainwash them?

"And the special guest is Pan's new imaginary friend!" I whispered, somehow managing to keep a straight face. A few of the Lost Boys laughed, but they shut up when they saw the murderous look on Pan's face.

"Something funny?" he asked with fake curiosity. "Perhaps you'd like to share it?" He stalked forward towards the small group of boys who had laughed. They edged away as he approached, keeping their heads down.

"No one wants to share?" Pan asked, casting withering glances at the group of boys. No one replied, but he seemed to know I was the one who had cracked the joke. Pan shot me a long, dark glare before spinning around.

"Very well then," Pan continued. "Our guest is the newest Lost Boy, Felix!" A loud cheering erupted from the crowd of boys, and I could practically feel my eardrums bursting.

"Hurrah," I muttered sarcastically. Then I realized I was the only one not acting like a brainwashed idiot. I had to pretend to go along with Pan and his Lost Boys until I could find a way to warn Felix, or Pan would kill me. So I clapped my hands enthusiastically. Unfortunately for me, everyone else had already stopped the insane cheering. The Lost Boys gave me weird looks, shifting away from me slightly as if I carried some strange disease.

"What?" I shrugged. "I'm just _sooo_ thrilled there's a new guy here. Maybe he's a hottie." It was weird to say that about my brother, but it was worth it when I saw the looks on the Lost Boys' faces.

"Felix, why don't you come up here?" Pan ordered, beckoning to my brother. Felix walked slowly up to the center of the clearing, mumbling under his breath when he tripped over a tree root. Felix, being his usual clumsy self, fell to the ground in a heap of dirty blond hair and brown cloak. A ripple of laughter ran through the crowd of boys, but Pan didn't say anything and didn't help Felix to his feet. Felix got up surprisingly quickly, his face carefully blank even though I knew that he was probably blushing scarlet on the inside.

"Who wants to show Felix around?" Pan asked, gazing around the crowd. "Any volunteers? I promise he won't bite." There were a few smirks at that, and finally a sixteen-year-old kid pushed his way to the front.

"I'll show him around, Pan," he said.

"Very good, Slightly," Pan praised him. "Just make sure he doesn't trip over his own feet again." The Lost Boys laughed, and once again Felix managed to conceal his embarrassment. But could feel my own cheeks growing warm as my brother was humiliated. I huffed in frustration. Why was Pan being such an ass to Felix? Didn't he want Felix to like being here? Or maybe Pan was an ass so much, that he didn't even realize he was doing it. I was so caught up in my thoughts, I didn't even recognize that Pan had said something until I noticed that all the Lost Boys were staring at me expectantly.

"Um... what?" I asked. They laughed yet again, and I sighed angrily.

"I can see she's very eloquent," Pan remarked. "As I was saying, this is our first Lost Girl. Her name is Kyra. Treat her like you would any boy. She can do hunting parties, perimeter patrols, border guards, anything a normal Lost Boy would be expected to do." I smiled widely and gave a big, over-exaggerated thumbs-up.

"Yep. Patrols. Gotta love them," I said brightly. Some of the boys rolled their eyes, but a few shot me appreciative grins as if they actually understood that I was being sarcastic.

"Excellent! Then you can be on the dawn patrol. Along with... hmm... how about Rufio and Loxias," Pan told me cheerfully. A few of the Lost Boys groaned good-naturedly. Pan waved his hand for the Lost Boys to disperse, and they began to scatter into clusters, returning to playing with fire and knives.

"Sorry about your luck," someone muttered to me. "Dawn patrol on the first day. That bites."

"Oh, hell no!" I exclaimed in response. "I just love getting up at the crack of dawn to trudge through the jungle with a bunch of teenage boys!" The kid shot me a weird look, but I just smiled. Pan overheard my comment and spared me an amused glance. Perhaps I was having too much fun with this. But then again, I needed to act like I was happy here until I get tell Felix the truth. Then I would give Peter Pan a good hard slap and skedaddle back to the Enchanted Forest before Felix could trip over his own feet and mess everything up as he usually did.

I began to make my way through the clearing towards Felix, who was talking with that boy called Slightly. Pan was watching them from a distance, absent-mindedly fingering the pan flute hanging from his belt. As he saw me walk towards Felix, his gaze darkened. Pan pushed himself off the tree he had been leaning on, blocking my path to Felix.

"I really don't think that's a good idea, princess," Pan warned.

"Why not?" I asked, struggling to keep my tone light. "He is my brother after all. Surely it wouldn't be so bad for me to talk to him."

"Felix can't properly become a Lost Boy with you always around," Pan said. "Besides, I doubt he wants his baby sister tagging along. If you even were his sister."

"What do you mean? I am his sister," I said firmly. Pan chuckled slightly.

"Oh, that's right. I keep forgetting. You don't know any of what really happened," Pan said. I put my hands on my hips.

"What the hell are you talking about, Pan?" I asked heatedly. Pan began to circle me slowly. What was it with Pan and pacing in circles? It was freaking creepy.

"Are you telling me that you've never had any strange memories that don't belong? Dreams that seemed strangely lifelike? Something tugging at the back of your mind that you can't quite place?" Pan suggested. "If you tell me that you've never felt anything like that... well, I wouldn't believe you."

"I've never felt anything like that," I lied. Pan stopped pacing. Instead, he crept up behind me, until I could feel his breath on my ear. I went completely still, the way a squirrel freezes up in headlights. Right before it gets hit by a car.

"I don't believe you," Pan whispered. Then he was gone, striding across the clearing, calling out greetings to a few Lost Boys as he went. Who was I kidding? Of course Pan didn't believe me. I didn't even believe myself. But now... now what? I couldn't even talk to Felix, let alone warn him. Unless...

"Hey, Slightly!" I called to the boy talking to Felix. He stopped speaking, turning to look at me with a wary expression.

"What is it?" he asked irritably.

"Over here. Come over here," I said, motioning him over. Sighing, he muttered something to Felix, who laughed guiltily, and began to trudge over. Slightly slouched to the side, looking at me with disinterested muddy-brown eyes.

"What do you want, girly?" he demanded impatiently.

"Name's Kyra," I corrected. "And I need you to give a message to Felix."

"Do it yourself," Slightly mumbled, turning away.

"No, wait!" I pleaded. "Pan won't let me talk to him." Slightly spun back to face me, a nasty grin on his face.

"Well, if Pan doesn't want you two talking, who am I to break his orders?" Slightly spat scornfully.

"Just... please. One message," I said. Slightly looked at me for a while, standing motionless, then sighed in defeat.

"Fine, what's the message?"

"Tell Felix that I'll be home by eight o'clock," I told him.

Slightly raised an eyebrow, "You're crazy, girly. But fine. I'll tell him." He trudged back over to where Felix was standing, and I couldn't help but let a small smile of victory curl my lips. Back in the Enchanted Forest, Felix and I had made up a secret code. It was especially important for me because I was a thief. If I had ever gotten caught, I would've needed to send a message to Felix that would be meaningless if anyone intercepted it. And "I'll be home by eight o'clock" meant that something was very wrong and Felix had to get out of here as soon as he possibly could.

Across the clearing, I saw Felix look at me questioningly. I nodded frantically, confirming that I had sent the message. Felix nodded almost imperceptibly. I saw him say something to Slightly and then motion at the jungle. Slightly nodded, and Felix began to stroll off into the forest. Began to. But then he stopped, and as I saw why I nearly screamed in frustration. Pan. Bloody Peter Pan, stepping out of the jungle as if he had been waiting for Felix. I looked away, pressing my hand to my mouth to keep the screams inside.

"Blast that son of a gun," I mumbled into my palm. I felt a light tap on my shoulder and turned around, ready to seriously kick some ass. But I relaxed when I saw that it was only Felix.

"Pan wants to play a game," Felix said loudly. "What are you trying to tell me?" he added in a whisper.

"Pan is dangerous," I murmured as I nodded my head enthusiastically. Felix looked puzzled, but he clapped me on the shoulder and guided me over to where Pan was waiting, sitting on a large, flat rock and sharpening a dagger. Pan looked up as we approached, pausing in his fervent sharpening of the knife.

"Well, well, well, the princess decided to grace us with her presence," Pan said. The Lost Boys around us laughed, and I ducked my head as my cheeks burned.

"The Queen is never late. Everyone else is simply early," I quipped. Pan raised a eyebrow, but didn't reply. Instead he held the dagger up to the moonlight, inspecting its blade.

"I think it's sharp enough. What do you think, princess?" Pan asked me, suddenly holding the knife up to my throat. I winced at the sudden pressure, and the uncomfortable pricking of the bade against my skin.

"Whoa, Pan," Felix said. "She was just making a joke." Pan cocked his head to one side.

"Is that right, princess?"

"Yes," I choked out, rasping a bit against the weight of the dagger. Pan smiled at me.

"Oh, I knew you were joking," Pan said, rubbing a rock against the knife's blade one last time. Then he tucked the dagger into his belt. "Now, who's ready to play a game?" The Lost Boys around the clearing whooped, cheering as Pan stood up on top of the rock, calling for attention.

"Tonight we'll play one of my favorite games," Pan announced. "Target practice." Slightly's eyes gleamed, and Rufio let out an enormous cheer.

"Right. Who wants the apple first?" Pan asked, making an apple appear in a poof of green smoke. He tossed the apple up and caught it again playfully. "Any ideas, gentlemen?" Pan prompted.

"Felix!" someone suggested.

"Slightly!" someone else put in. I saw Slightly shove that boy good-naturedly. Then he saw me watching him and grinned.

"Kyra!" Slightly called out. Pan grinned wildly at him, raising the apple higher in the air.

"Do you all want Kyra to do it?" Pan asked. There was a massive wave of cheers, and some boys behind me shoved me forward. I glared at them after I caught my balance, then continued walking forward.

"Guess you guys all need a girl to do a boy's job," I said. The boys laughed, and I smiled. Then I tuned to Pan. "So what exactly are you all too scared to do?"

"Stand there with an apple on your head as someone tries to shoot at the apple," Pan explained, tossing me the apple. I caught it easily.

"I'm game," I aged. "As long as I can take a bite of the apple first."

"Knock yourself out," Pan said. I took a big bite out of the perfectly red apple, sighing at the sweet taste.

"Mmm," I said. "Oh, guys, you don't know what you're missing."

"Um, Kyra," Rufio said, motioning at my chin. "You've got a little something there." I shrugged, balancing the apple on my head.

"I don't mind. Unless you care enough to wipe it off for me?" I said, raising an eyebrow. Rufio flushed deeply, and a couple of the boys wolf-whistled.

"Now if you'll stop flirting long enough to actually play the game..." Pan said.

"Well, if you really want me to stop flirting, Pan," I sighed exaggeratedly. Then I blinked in surprise. Pan was actually right. What was I doing? Cracking jokes, playing stupid games, flirting with Lost Boys... I needed to get my mind back on the task at hand. Warning Felix to stay away from Peter Pan.

"Game on," I told Pan, and he smirked. A crossbow materialized in his hand, and he held it out to the clamoring Lost Boys.

"Who wants to do the honors?" Pan teased them. Then Felix pushed to the front of the crowd.

"Not her, Pan," Felix said grimly. "She's not playing." Pan glanced between me and Pan, then quirked a grin.

"Well, fine then, mate," Pan consented. "Hats off to you, I suppose. Protecting the princess." Felix dragged me back into the mob, and I rolled my eyes, the apple tumbling off of my head.

"I was fine, Felix," I complained. "Why couldn't you just trust me?"

"Next time I won't help you, then," Felix said disdainfully. "I was just standing up for you." Before I could stop him, he vanished deeper into the crowd of Lost Boys. Sighing unhappily, I tuned back to watch Pan's "game" unfold.

"Since we've lost our princess, guess we'll have to find a new one," Pan said thoughtfully. "Oh, I know." He flicked his wrist, and a person appeared in a shower of emerald dust. It was a girl, just a few years older than me, dressed in woodsy clothes that reminded me distinctly of Pan's.

"Pan?" she muttered, looking up.

"Hullo, Tink," Pan greeted cheerfully, picking up the apple with one bite out of it. "Care to play?"

"I'm not playing," Tink said quickly, scrambling away. Pan let out a hiss of air between his teeth, a sound of disappointment. Then he reached up to his neck, pulling something out from beneath his collar. Peering curiously at it, I realized it was a necklace. No, not a necklace. An amulet. It was engraved in an intricate rose design, and the entire thing seemed to glow faintly green around the edges.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Pan smirked. "I have your magic all stored up in this lovely amulet. You have no choice. Unless you want to die, of course." That was the last thing I heard. The world went dark, my legs buckled beneath me, and I collapsed, my mind filling with visions that seemed more real than the world around me.

_With a smile on my lips,_ _I touched the amulet that hung around my neck. The familiar weight of it was comforting. It was a lovely thing, a rectangular piece of metal that was engraved with the image of a cascading waterfall basking under the light of two brilliantly bright stars. The amulet pulsed with purple light. Magic. _

_ But I let out a gasp of pain as the amulet heated up unbearably, burning against my collarbone. I fell backwards as the ground shuddered under my feet. As the shaking stopped and the amulet faded back to a normal temperature, I shakily got to my feet. A boy stood there, head cocked to one side, watching as I clambered back to my feet. _

_ "Hullo there," he greeted me. "That's quite a lovely necklace you have there." My hand flew to my neck, grasping the amulet protectively. _

_ "It's mine," I hissed. "And you can't have it." _

_ "We'll see," the boy laughed. "I'm Peter by the way. Peter Pan." _

_xxxxxx_

_ "Why is it so important to you that Pan doesn't get the necklace?" I asked my adopted mother. Maleficent, her name was._

_ "If he does, he'll get more than your magic," Mella sighed. "He'll take everything that makes you who you are. And if he gets all of the amulets, Pan will have as much power as the Dark One." I shuddered at the thought. _

_ "But Mella, I don't want magic," I complained. _

_ "You'll learn to live with it," Mella said kindly._

_ "I don't know if I can." _

_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_

_ "I'm afraid," I sobbed, wrapping my arms around Mella. She hugged me back tightly. _

_ "Oh, sweetie, don't be afraid," Mella soothed my tears. "I won't let Pan hurt you. Not ever." _

_xxxxxxxxxxxxx_

_ "Remember, if anything happens, if Pan somehow gets the amulet, it will be fine," Maleficent told me. "The plan is already in place. If he gets it from us, the amulet will vanish from Pan's clutches after twenty-four hours and reappear in the possession of the child you have chosen. What is the boy's name again?" _

_ "Felix," I said softly, smiling._

_ "Felix," Mella echoed. "That's a good name. " _

_ "He's a good boy," I said, looking up at her. "He won't know the amulet has magic, right?" _

_ "No," Mella told me, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Felix will receive the amulet with a letter from one of his mother's old friends. He'll think it's from his late mother. One last special token from his dead mother for Felix to protect with his life." _

_ "He'll take good care of it," I told Mella. "I can tell." _

_xxxxxxxxxxxx_

_ I could see Mella through a heavy gray mist. She didn't think I could. She thought I was dead. I could hear her muttering spells, and salty tears dripped off her face onto mine. My heart was breaking for her, but I was frozen. Whatever potion Pan had given me had completely immobilized me, even stopping my heartbeat. Yet somehow I was still alive... _

_ "Hello, Maleficent," Pan greeted as he materialized on the other side of my limp body. She glared at him through thick tears. _

_ "Haven't you done enough, Pan?" Mella said bitterly. Pan knelt down next to me, brushing my cheek with icy fingers. _

_ "She isn't dead, you know," he said thoughtfully. "Just... frozen. She could live forever like this. Never aging. Never dying." _

_ "That's not a life," Maleficent snapped bitingly. Pan smirked. _

_ "I can revive her. If you give me what I came here for," Pan suggested. Mella hesitate, but then tugged at the chain around my neck. The chain was long and loose, and it slipped off my head easily. I felt a sorrowful pang run through me as the amulet left my possession for the first time since the day of my birth. It had been my only present from my now-dead parents. Pan had killed them to try to get the necklace, and now I had lost my last connection to them. Mella thrust the amulet at Pan without looking at him, and he grabbed it gingerly, almost reverently. _

_ "Beautiful," Pan murmured, running his fingers over the engraved waterfall under the two diamond-like stars. Then he looked back up at Mella. _

_ "I can't let her live with you. She's too dangerous if she remembers. I'll give her a new life, somewhere else in the Enchanted Forest, and I suggest you don't go looking for her," Pan said. Mella nodded in agreement. _

_ "Just one thing. There's a nice boy in the village. I don't even know which village it is, so you don't have to worry about me interfering. His name is Felix. In this new life, let him be Kyra's brother," Mella pleaded. Pan just looked at her for a moment with cold eyes. Then, surprising even himself, he nodded. _

_ "Very well. Kyra shall be Felix's sister," Pan agreed. Then he vanished, holding Kyra in his arms, an amulet around his neck. _

I jerked awake, shooting upright. All around me, Lost Boys were staring. Felix was staring at me too, looking shocked. Pan, though, smirked at me expectantly.

"I remember," I said breathlessly. "All of it. I remember all of it."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Okay. I took a bit of a risk with this chapter, experimenting with some styles I don't normally write... but I hope you guys like it. Please review, and let me know if you think this was good! Enjoy! **

**harronhermy: Thanks for the amazing reviews. Seriously. I almost gave up writing this chapter, but then I looked back at the review page and your reviews put a smile on my face every time. **

**Lady of the Witty: Thank you so much, both for the reviews and the help with this latest chapter. I really needed those ideas to restart my brain! My brain was having technical difficulties these past few days...**

**One Year Earlier **

**The Enchanted Forest **

_I knew I was dreaming, but that didn't help. It was the same dream as it always was, and I found myself panicking, searching around for anything to protect myself. But there was nothing. I was in a wide clearing in the center of a vast jungle. I didn't know how I knew that the jungle was that big, because I never actually left the clearing. But somehow I knew. And I was alone. At least I thought so._

_ Until I heard a small noise behind me. I spun around, sighing in relief when I saw that I was only Felix, stepping on a small twig. _

_ "Hey, Felix," I greeted with a smile. But Felix didn't answer. He was staring at something behind me, his eyes cold and distant. I turned again, this time to find out what the hell Felix was staring at so intently that he would ignore me, his own sister. The moment I turned, I gasped in horror. It was only a boy, but his blue-green eyes were cold as death. He wore strange green clothes that were stained with so much blood they almost looked black. But it wasn't his blood. I choked in disgust, pressing a hand over my mouth so I couldn't smell the metal scent of blood, stumbling backwards away from the cold-eyed boy. But Felix was right behind me, pushing me forwards towards the blood-soaked boy. _

_ "Who are you?" I sobbed to the boy. "Why are you doing this?" He reached out, smoothing a strand of hair behind my ear. His fingers left a long smear of blood down the side of my face, and I flinched away. The boy smiled at me, but it was a smile with no warmth._

_ "This is your destiny," he told me quietly. Felix moved to stand beside him, looking at me with emotionless eyes. It was as if Felix didn't even know me. _

_ "Do it, Pan," Felix growled. The boy in front of me- presumably Pan- nodded in approval and wrapped his blood-stained hands around my throat. I choked, kicking out and flailing my arms wildly. Pan's hands only tightened around my neck, and he forced me backwards, slamming me into a tree trunk. I struggled to get air, but it was no use. The blood on Pan's hands seemed to spread, oozing up and coating my neck, filling my mouth with the choking, metallic taste. The world began to fade as breath left my body and my lungs slowly filled with blood..._

My eyes shot open, and I gasped for air, my rapid breath strangely loud inside the quiet bedroom. I sat up slowly, clutching the faded blue quilt with shaking fingers. The twin bed creaked as I moved. It was an ancient thing made of a chipped black metal that was probably shiny at one point, and the thin mattress did little to stop the rough metal from rubbing against my skin.

I looked around the blue-painted room, trying to forget my terrible nightmare. It was the same one as it was every time. That boy. The blood. Felix just watching as I slowly suffocated to death. Casting a glance across the room, I saw that the other single bed, the one identical to mine, was empty, the blankets thrown askew and the pillow hanging sideways, spilling halfway onto the floor. Felix had already gotten up. And he hadn't made his bed. As usual.

Groaning, I got to my feet and walked over to the small wooden chest that contained all my worldly possessions. I unlocked the chest, tossing the key up onto my bed. I grabbed a black tunic and charcoal gray trousers from the chest, yanking them on and shoving my hair out of my eyes. As I bent down to lace up my boots, the sleeve of my tunic rode up and I gasped, freezing in place. There was a long, thick smear of blood trailing down my upper arm and half of the way down my forearm. Stalking over to the single mirror in the entire house, a dirty little thing about the size of my head, I yanked up the sleeve of my tunic and peered at the mirror.

"Damn!" I cursed loudly, staring at the mirror with wide, scared eyes. The smudged blood stretched all the way up to the top of my shoulder. But how...? A dream was just a dream. That was all. Right? _You're talking crazy,_ I chided myself. I had probably scratched myself on the sharp metal of my bed. Suddenly, there was a quiet knock on the bedroom door.

"You okay, Kyra?" Felix asked from the other side of the door, sounding concerned. I forced myself to look away from the blood.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," I lied, grabbing an old rag from my open chest of belongings and rubbing it against my arm, trying to scrape the blood off.

"Okay," Felix replied uncertainly, sounding unconvinced. "Breakfast in five minutes."

"Yeah, yeah, breakfast in five minutes. Got it," I muttered. Felix hesitated at the door. I could hear the wooden floorboards creak as he shifted from foot to foot uncertainly. But soon enough he left, his footsteps growing softer. I scrubbed furiously at my arm, sighing in relief when the last of the blood flaked off and drifted down to the floor. Then I smoothed my wild hair down, taking a deep breath to steady my racing nerves. I opened the door and crept out into the hallway, entering the kitchen, which was nothing more than a rickety set of table and chairs and an old stove surrounded by a clutter of soot-coated pots. Felix was bent over the stove, but he smiled at me as I came in. I bit back at a laugh at the black ash smeared across the bridge of his nose, surveying the table. Only two places were set, two chipped plates and mismatched cups.

"Where's Papa?" I asked. Felix stirred something inside a pot that was sitting on the stove, lifting up the lid slightly to peer inside.

"He found a new job as baker's assistant. He had to leave early to roll out dough for today's scones," Felix explained. He gingerly picked up the pot with a ragged cloth wrapped around his hand, hissing in pain at the hot surface. I slid into one of the dilapidated chairs. This one was my favorite because it only had three legs, yet it was still standing. I called it my "Survivor Chair". Felix set the pot down on the table, which moaned under the added weight.

"Baker's assistant, hmm?" I raised an eyebrow. "Maybe Papa can get us some free rolls." Felix laughed, turning back around to slop water on the fire. Steam hissed up, curling its gray fingers in the air as the water fell against the burning coals.

"In your dreams, Kyra," Felix responded playfully. I kept quiet, because I did not dream about rolls. The things I dreamt about were much, much darker. I unconsciously traced a finger up my left arm, the one that had been traced with blood when I woke up. Felix looked at me oddly.

"Why is your arm all pink, Kyra?" Felix asked, sounding worried. "Were you rubbing it with sandpaper or something?"

"I had a bug bite," I muttered, looking down at my plate as Felix spooned some kind of potato-and-cabbage hash onto it. "It was itchy." Felix raised an eyebrow, but just shrugged when it was clear I wasn't going to tell the truth.

"If you say so," Felix said. He sat down across from me, raising a spoonful of the potato stuff in the air. I copied the movement, grinning.

"To free bread!" I toasted. Felix laughed.

"To free bread!" he echoed. I instantly stuck the spoon in my mouth, ignoring the bland taste of the food and swallowing it while it was hot. Felix ate a bit more slowly. In fact, he still held that first spoonful an inch from his lips when there was a loud, sharp knock on the door. Felix let his spoon drop back onto his plate and we exchanged a confused look.

"Papa?" Felix guessed. I shook my head.

"No, I don't think even Papa would be fired that quickly," I said. Felix grinned at that and got up from the table, the legs of his chair screeching loudly against the floor. He strode to the front door and opened it halfway.

"Hello?" I heard him ask. I got up and walked over to the door curiously. There was no answer to Felix's greeting, and Felix opened the door wider, scanning all around. A leaf tumbled by, carried by the wind, but there was no one in sight.

"Weird," I muttered, before tugging on his arm. "Come on, Felix. Let's eat breakfast before it gets cold."

"Wait a second," Felix said, bending down to snatch something up from the ground in front of the door. It was a small piece of parchment, torn along the edges. I wouldn't even had noticed it if Felix hadn't. Felix scanned the parchment, obviously reading a message. I tried to peer at the paper over his shoulder, but he was too tall and I only caught a brief glimpse of spidery handwriting in black ink.

"What's it say?" I demanded impatiently. Felix just stared at the paper with wide gray eyes, his mouth hanging slightly open.

"What?" I asked again, but Felix still didn't reply.

"It's from Mother," Felix whispered hoarsely, bowing his head and closing his eyes tightly. He was touching the amulet that hung around his neck, the only keepsake either of us had from our mother. I snatched the frail parchment from his fingers and read it out loud, feeling brave enough to speak the words rather than read them silently. Out loud was better. Silently was all alone. Lonely.

"Dear Felix and Kyra," I read, my throat already going dry. I coughed and continued. "Dear Felix and Kyra. I'm sorry that I have never been there for you, but it has been too dangerous. I would be putting your lives in danger if I visited you even for an hour. But I'm taking the risk of sending this letter because it no longer matters. You have been found, and if you haven't been found he is very close to finding you. There's nothing I can do. This letter is the only help I can give you. It will be your only warning. Leave now while you still can." I looked up at Felix, my face pale with shock.

"The signature," he prompted without meeting my eyes. "Read the signature." I slowly looked back down at the letter in my hands.

"It's signed with an M," I said. "That's it." Felix nodded.

"It's from Mother. Who else could it be?" Felix said. "Who do we know who has a name starting with an M?"

"Mella!" I blurted out. I didn't know why I had said that, but the name had just sprung to my lips without my consent.

"Who's Mella?" Felix asked. I shook my head.

"I don't know. It just sort of... came to me," I finished lamely. Then I peered closer at Felix's shell-shocked face.

"Should we listen to the letter?" I asked. "Should we run?"

"Where?" Felix spat with a surprising amount of venom. "Where would we run? Even if this is from Mother, she abandoned us. Why should we do a single thing she says?"

"It sounds like Mother gave us up to protect us," I said softly, putting a hand on Felix's shoulder. "She was protecting us from whoever 'he' is."

"That's another thing that doesn't make sense," Felix said angrily. "Why would we never hear about this mysterious threat until now? It just doesn't add up." I hesitated.

"So what should we do?" I asked uncertainly, my voice wavering.

"Burn it!" Felix snarled. "Burn the damn letter and stomp on the ashes."

**Present Day **

**Neverland **

"You," I muttered, staring at Pan from across the clearing. "You!" I jumped to my feet, glaring daggers at him, and instantly Pan materialized next to me, grabbing my arm and dragging me forcibly into the jungle.

"Slightly, take charge of the game!" he yelled over his shoulder. Then the clearing disappeared from view, and Pan was shoving me through the jungle. Finally, after a good ten minutes of half-running, half-staggering through the trees, Pan stopped and let go of my arm. I jerked away, but Pan didn't even give me a minute to catch my breath. He slammed me into a tree so hard my head rattled and my teeth clicked together sharply. Pan hands were pressed against my throat. I could barely breathe. I just panted uselessly, glaring up at Pan with scared but angry eyes.

"Not a word to anyone," Pan hissed. "Not Felix. Not Slightly. Not Rufio. No one. _No one_. Do you understand?" What else could I do with Pan practically strangling me? I nodded in agreement. The instant he released me, I punched him in the stomach, a nice hard one that made him double over.

"Screw you, Pan," I said. "You wiped my memories. You took away my magic. You are using me to get to Felix so you can get that damn amulet." Pan just smirked at me.

"That I am," Pan said nonchalantly.

"But why not just take it?" I asked. "Just grab the amulet and stab Felix in the heart. Why go to all this trouble?"

"The amulet can only be taken off by the wearer," Pan explained to me condescendingly, as if I were a very young child. "There are very special, very strange cases where others can take it... but they are irrelevant in this situation."

"I am going to kill you," I said, looking at Pan with absolutely zero sympathy. "I am going to murder you. And there is nothing you can do to stop me."

"Oh, really?" Pan raised an eyebrow, amused. He grabbed my forearm, and the world began to swim before my eyes as a terrible pain raced through me. Somewhere there was a person screaming shrilly, and I had the faintest idea that I was me. My legs buckled as pain like burning coals pressing down on my skin spread through me.

"Stop," I whimpered. "Please, please stop. Stop, stop, stop." Pan chuckled and released my arm, letting me collapse to the ground.

"See, Kyra," Pan replied, crouching down next to me and stroking my hair. "I can hurt you. I took your magic. I took part of your soul. And now... I control you." I trembled, but struggled to keep my tears at bay. Crying was not an option. I was not weak. I was strong.

"I hope you go to hell," I muttered into the ground. "I am going to kill you."

"Kyra," Pan whispered. "Look at me." Slowly, cautiously, I looked up, and Pan slipped a hand under my chin, pulling me towards him. I hissed and jerked away, but Pan just grabbed my chin again, forcing me to look at him.

"What. The. Hell," I spat.

"Hold very still," Pan warned me. "You don't want me to hurt you by accident." He leaned closer, and I stood very still, still as a statue. Not even breathing. Then Pan's lips touched mine, a calm, smooth gesture that held no emotion. It was soft and cold, like kissing satin. There was no feelings behind it, no passion, no heat. It was an experiment. I didn't react at all. I just stood there, allowing Pan to move his lips against my own. And I refused to move. Then Pan leaned back, studying my face, looking for any signs, anything, but I wouldn't let him see anything. Nothing. Even though the smallest feeling stirred inside me, I crushed it before I could even fully understand what it was. Pan brushed his fingers along my face.

"See," Pan soothed. "All better. I can feel it when you want to hurt me. And right now hurting me is the last thing on your mind. If you bear me no ill will, your pain will vanish."

"You asshole," was the only thing I could think of to say. Pan laughed softly.

"If you don't try to act against me, you will suffer no pain," Pan told me. "If you do... well, you've seen what I am capable of. You're a smart girl. You know better than to anger me. But if you keep your mouth shut... if you don't tell your dear _'brother' _about that amulet... I might not have to kill you."

"That's reassuring," I snarled. "I don't know what the hell you think you're doing, or what sick and twisted game you're playing, but I want no part of it." I turned on my heel and stalked off back towards camp. Because really, where else was there to go? Nowhere. I was lost in Neverland.

As I reached the camp, Felix ran over to me.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked. "You collapsed, and then yelled something about remembering, and then Pan dragged you off into the jungle..." Felix trailed off when he saw the look on my face. I wasn't sure what to say. I felt as if the ground had been ripped out from under my feet, and now someone was telling me that up was down and down was up, that right was left and left was right. And I couldn't breathe a single word about Pan's threats. But I didn't want to lie to Felix yet again. Especially now that I remembered and I realized that I had been lying to him my entire life, about everything. He wasn't even my real brother.

"Kyra?" Felix prompted.

"He kissed me," I said blandly, telling him the only piece of the truth that I could, staring off into the distance. Felix's eyes widened, and he backed away a little bit, no doubt to avoid getting caught up in my so-called _"girl drama"_.

"Oh," Felix muttered. "Oh. Oh, well. Oh. Okay. I'll just let you... think." I suppressed a laugh at his ridiculous caution. But I just gave him a sad smile. I walked over to a nearby tree, a tall oak with a branches as thick around as... well, as thick around as really thick tree branches. I sank to the ground beneath the canopy of branches, staring up at the collage of fluttering leaves.

And I thought. Pan haunted me, his jeering laugh and twisted smirk, and I wanted to find him and shove a dagger between his ribs. But Pan haunted me for another reason... I kept thinking about that kiss. It was nothing. Less than nothing. But it hadn't felt bad, and that bothered me. A kiss from Pan should've felt bad, like poison in my mouth. But it hadn't felt bad. It hadn't felt good either, but it hadn't felt bad.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Okay, another chapter. Thanks for reading! I honestly don't know why you guys put up with my writing... please review so I know how to get better. Also, don't expect an update tomorrow. I have a band competition. I'm playing in two quartets. Wish me luck! I'll probably update again the day after tomorrow, but no promises. Enjoy! **

**And here's a quote I thought fit the chapter extremely well: **

**"I need another story  
Something to get off my chest  
Need something that I can confess  
'Til all my sleeves are stained red  
From all the truth that I've said" **

**- One Republic, _"Secrets"_**

**Neverland **

**Present Day **

"Oh, Tinkerbell, oh, Tinkerbell. There are no sec-ond chan-ces," I heard a Lost Boy singing off-key. The loud chant woke me abruptly from a deep, dreamless sleep. Actually, that was odd. Since when did I sleep without dreams? Or rather, nightmares. Not that I missed my nightmares. I didn't. But I didn't feel any better now that they were gone. I was already living a nightmare. I had dozed off under the branches of the enormous oak, my hair tangling in the mass of roots. Slowly I sat up, brushing twigs out of my hair and wincing as my head pounded uncomfortably. Being woken up suddenly always gave me a headache.

Letting out a deep breath, I let my gaze travel over to the center of the clearing, where the Lost Boys were congregating. They were standing in a wide circle, surrounding a figure laying sprawled on the ground, a person I couldn't quite see through the gaps in the circle. I watched apathetically, my hands resting in my lap, sure they were picking on another Lost Boy. But as I watched, the person on the ground in the center pushed himself- or rather herself- up, and I realized it was not a Lost Boy at all. It was a girl. Scared, green eyes that stared out at the faces, desperate for an answer. An answer to the question haunting my mind. Why? Why? Why this pain, why this cruelty? Her frazzled blond hair was breaking free of a bun, exhausted strands lying limply in the air. Even as I watched the spectacle unfold, my mouth slightly parted in a horrified "O", the girl caught sight of me, her eyes pleading for help. I knew this girl. She was the one I had seen right before I had passed out. She was the one who had lost her amulet to Pan. Tinkerbell. I froze in place, unsure what to do. Should I help her? But really, my question was if Pan would kill me if I did help this Tinkerbell. The choice was taken from me when I felt a hard hand clasp my shoulder, the grip of someone behind me who I hadn't even noticed. Of course. Pan.

"I think we should join the Lost Boys in their fun, don't you?" Pan said softly in my ear. Before I could reply with a firm "hell no", Pan dragged me to my feet, shoving me forward, towards the circle of Lost Boys.

"Clear a space!" Pan ordered the Lost Ones, motioning with the arm that wasn't holding me still so I wouldn't make a run for it. "The princess wants to play. And so do I." Grinning, the boys obeyed, pushing each other to leave a gap in the ring just wide enough for me and Pan.

"The princess does not want to play," I muttered rebelliously, shooting a glare at Pan.

"Ah, but the princess shall play," Pan winked at me, and suddenly I found myself unable to meet his gaze. I stared down at the leave-strewn ground, trying to forget, forget, forget. Forget the pain so intense I nearly fainted. Pain like fire on my bare skin. Forget the coldness of afterwards, the iciness of Pan's eyes as he leaned in close... no. That was enough. I shook my head rapidly.

"Whatever," I replied. "The princess says off with Pan's head." Pan gave me an amused smirk, and Rufio groaned loudly.

"If you guys are going to pretend to be royalty, I want in," Rufio complained. "Can I be a king, Pan?"

"You can be anything the princess says you can be," Pan responded smoothly. I tapped my index finger against my chin, pretending to think.

"Hmm... you can't be King, Rufio, but you can be something else. Like, a baron. Or a count," I told him. Rufio sighed in disappointment, and Felix's mouth twitched in amusement.

"And Felix is my brother, the prince," I continued, looking at the circle of Lost Boys. "And Slightly is a duke..." Then I gave up, throwing my hands up in the air. "Oh, forget it!" I cried. "There are too many of you. You can all be kings." I smiled to myself as they laughed. Just like normal boys. Innocent. The Lost Boys wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for their leader. As if he knew I was thinking about him, Pan leaned closer, letting his words fall quietly so the boys wouldn't hear.

"They may be kings, but I'm the emperor," Pan whispered. Even though his words were innocent enough, even though it sounded as though he were only joining in the game, I knew better. I felt my skin prickle with cold, and I shuddered. Tinkerbell was just staring at me and Pan, looking puzzled and betrayed.

"Pan," she said angrily. "I swear I will murder you-"

"Hmm," Pan interrupted her with a bored sigh. "No you won't. Look what I found lying around." Once again he held up that green amulet, and as Tinkerbell flinched, I flinched as well. Poor Tinkerbell. How could Felix be going along with this? I glanced up at him, and was horrified when I saw that he looked faintly amused. What the hell was wrong with him? Felix noticed me staring at him, and looked at me questioningly. I shook my head and turned away, turning back to Tinkerbell.

"Leave her alone," I told Pan. "She hasn't done anything to you." That part there was a bit of a bluff. In fact, Tinkerbell might've done a great deal to Pan that I didn't know about. But the look in her eyes made me sure that she was innocent. Pan's jaw tightened, and his eyes flashed as if he were about to throw a temper tantrum. But then, he cocked his head to one side, smirking.

"You're right," Pan said. "She hasn't done anything. So we'll just play a game." I glanced at him suspiciously.

"A game?" I echoed uncertainly. A game, a game, a game. That brought back bad memories. Memories of the Enchanted Forest, of Pan killing my parents. _Let's play a game,_ he had said all those years ago. _A really fun game._ I had been too young to understand. He had said it would be fun and I had believed him. _I call it target practice._ That was my first mistake. Never again.

"Yes," Pan clapped his hands together once in excitement. "I have Tinkerbell's amulet. She has to follow my every order. But you're the princess. You can decide. What do you want Tinkerbell to do?" Pan reached out, dangling the green amulet tauntingly above my head, just out of reach.

"I don't want to play this game," I said, backing away from the circle. This was sickening. How could Pan do this to a poor girl? But wait- he was doing the same thing to me. Though he didn't have my amulet, though Felix hadn't taken that necklace off since he got it so many years ago, Pan had taken all my magic. I was powerless against him. And Pan chose this moment to remind me of that fact. As Pan let the hand he clutched the amulet in fall back to his side, his other wrist twitched almost imperceptibly. Almost. But my eyes flicked immediately to the tiny movement, and I grimaced as pain shot through me. Pan narrowed his eyes at me impatiently.

"Princess, it's just a game," Pan said soothingly. He approached me slowly, like I was an injured animal. Then he grabbed my wrist, yanking me back to the circle of Lost Boys. I tried to pull away, but Pan shifted so I was directly in front of him, only an inch of air separating us. He reached around me, finding my hand, and pressed the green amulet into my fingers. The necklace was ice-cold, so icy it almost burned my hand. I hissed in discomfort, trying to drop the amulet, but Pan wasn't having that. He kept his fingers clenched tightly around my fist, forcing me to hold on to the necklace. Felix's gaze flicked from me to Pan, as if he wasn't sure exactly what was going on, and the other boys just looked vaguely entertained.

"So do what you want to do," Pan hissed in my ear. "Bend her to your will." I swallowed hard. I did not want to be a part of this.

"What- are you trying to turn this poor girl to the dark side?" Tinkerbell scoffed in her funny little accent. She crossed her arms, staring at Pan calmly. "Yeah, good luck with that one," Tinkerbell said.

"Come on, princess," Pan urged me quietly enough so Felix could not hear. "I can feel your anger. You are so full of rage..." That was it. I had heard enough of Pan and his taunts. I spun around, breaking Pan's hold on me.

"Don't call me princess!" I spat, throwing a punch at Pan's face. Before the blow landed, Pan caught my wrist, holding my arm still. But instead of being angry, Pan just looked satisfied. Content.

"Look at the amulet," Pan said quietly. I glanced down at the necklace in my other hand, and gasped in shock. It was no longer green; no, the amulet radiated a deep red aura. Crimson.

"There's that anger," Pan praised me. "Now look at Tinkerbell." _Tinkerbell_. I spun around, and Tinkerbell was bent double, her teeth clenched in pain. Had I done that, with my anger towards Pan? Throwing the accursed amulet to the ground, I ran into the center of the circle, kneeling down next to Tinkerbell.

"Are you all right?" I worried. Tink gave me a tight smile.

"Fine," she replied curtly. I got to my feet, then offered a hand to help Tink up. She took it gratefully. I looked over at Pan, putting my hands on my hips.

"So, are you done terrorizing innocents?" I snapped. Pan grinned and bent down to pick up the amulet. He lifted the necklace over his head, tucking it under his cloak's collar.

"Hey, Kyra," Felix said calmingly. "Relax. Pan didn't hurt her. It was just a bit of fun, you know."

"You just keep telling yourself that, _brother_," I told him, stalking off towards the woods. Tink trailed behind me, probably sensing that I was her route to freedom. But Pan moved to stand in my way.

"Going already, princess?" Pan asked, raising an eyebrow. "But you and Tink can have so much fun together!"

"You know what would be really fun for me?" I shot back. "Punching you in the face."

"I seem to recall that a few hours ago, you were more than willing to let me steal a kiss," Pan mocked me. "Whatever changed your mind about me?" I inhaled shakily, my cheeks flushing red as the Lost Boys behind me whistled appreciatively. Why would Pan ever bring that up? Unless... he was still playing that game. Unless he still wanted me to convince everyone, even him, that I wanted to be on this island. But there was nothing I could say to contradict Pan. If I told the truth in front of Felix, I would be dead instantly. Pan would not hesitate to kill me, I knew. The more frustrated I became, the more furious at Pan I was, the more pain spread through me. That pain, the same kind Pan had warned me of in the woods. Pain like burning coals. Pain like searing fire. Pain that came from hating Pan.

That's when I realized the full extent of his plan. Pan knew that my acting skills- admittedly rather limited acting skills- would never convince Felix that I wanted to be here. The only way I would ever be convincing enough was if I actually wanted to be here. And since I knew the truth and remembered everything that had happened in the Enchanted Forest, Pan had already figured out there was no way I would want to be here unless I suffered if I didn't want to be here with him. If I rebelled, I suffered. Pan had been one step ahead the entire time. The more I understood his plan, the more hate filled me. I had to get away.

I turned and sprinted into the trees at full speed, running, running, running to who-knows-where. I heard Felix calling after me, but I ignored him. He had just joined in Pan's sadistic games after only a day or two of staying in Neverland. It was betrayal.

I kept running, even though I knew there was no way to outrun my fears. I refused to let tears slide down my cheeks, even though the jungle looked blurry through the film of tears collecting in my eyes. I ran until my legs ached and I couldn't run anymore, not even to get away from Pan. Then I just let myself fall to the ground, lying without caring amid the mud. The pain like hot coals burned inside me, and I curled up, hugging my knees to my chest. A small whimper escaped me, but I would not cry. I refused to cry.

But that didn't mean I was up to the task of fighting. I heard footsteps , far off at first but coming closer. And I knew who it was. Pan. He stood a few feet away, arms crossed, blocking out the faint light that trickled down from the half-moon.

"Just go away," I whispered, but Pan paid that no attention. He crouched down next to me, and I was so exhausted I didn't even care.

"Kyra," he told me in a sing-song voice. "I can make the pain go away."

"Just leave me alone," I pleaded, wrapping my head in my hands and burying my face in my knees.

"Convince me you belong in Neverland," Pan ordered, his voice suddenly much harsher. "You haven't been very convincing, Kyra." I raised my head slowly to look at him.

"And how do you suggest I get rid of my anger?" I spat.

"By letting go of your hate," Pan answered, his eyes cold. He wrapped his arms around me, and I shuddered, but forced myself to relax. _Let go of your hate_. Pan bent down, kissing the top of my head lightly, and I went stock-still before letting out a slow breath. _Just let your hate go_.

"But he killed my parents," I reminded myself, not even realizing I was speaking out loud. "He wants to take the amulet from Felix. He wants me dead as soon as I am no longer needed."

"You're right," Pan replied, placing an icy hand on my cheek. "I really don't care about you." But for the second time that day, I let Pan lean in and kiss me, a cool brush of ice on my lips. Because there was really no other way. As his lips met mine, emotionless and slow, I felt my anger gradually drain away, and the pain fading away with it. But still I wouldn't react. This was just a means to an end. Right? I could feel his lips curving into a smirk even as he kissed me again, softly.

Pan chuckled as he pulled away. Then he got to his feet, leaving me sitting cross-legged on the muddy jungle ground.

"Get some rest, princess," Pan suggested smugly. "You've got a big day tomorrow." I looked up at him.

"Really? Why is that?" I asked.

"Because that's when you'll be seeing Felix again, of course," Pan replied. "And your acting skills will truly be put to the test." Then he vanished without a trace. I sat in the cold night air, the chill breeze that wove through the trees not bothering me in the slightest. It wasn't cold at all compared to Pan's eyes.

Sighing, I curled back up and soon fell into a fitful sleep. But I had been wrong. The nightmares weren't gone. Except they were no longer just dreams. They were memories, memories of parents, memories of Mella, all memories that Pan had erased. Flooding back in.

_Time shuddered backwards frame by frame, like a video rewinding to a scene at the very beginning of the film. But once the scene came into focus, it became eerily clear, detailed down to the last blade of grass. _

_ There was a little girl in a blue dress with an itchy collar that she hated. She was standing on top of a hill, looking out towards the horizon, which was painted by the red brush of sunrise. Her black hair whipped back in the wind, green eyes flashing as the light of the rising sun shone in them. It was me, I realized. Me when I was but five years old. I could see by the way the little girl stared out that she wanted an adventure, and I wasn't the only one who could tell. _

_ "Hello there," said a boy to the little girl version of me. She spun around, eyeing the boy with a puzzled glance. _

_ "That's a pretty necklace you've got there," the boy said. The girl, being a five-year-old, immediately assumed he was trying to steal it from her._

_ "You can't have it!' the girl shouted. "It's mine!" _

_ "We'll see," the boy grinned darkly. "I'm Peter, by the way. Peter Pan." _

_ "Kyra. Kyra Skylar," the little girl said briefly. _

_ "Do you want to play a game, Kyra?" Pan asked suddenly. _

_ "Sure," Kyra smiled. _

_ "Have you ever shot a bow before?" Pan wondered, then shook his head. "No, of course you haven't. Your parents are of royal blood, of course. Parents. Always getting in the way." _

_ "Hey, that's not very nice," Kyra pouted, not even wondering how Pan knew who her parents were. _

_ "That's okay, Kyra," Pan soothed. "I'll take care of you parents and we can play a game together. I'll make you a princess. Sound like a deal?" _

_ "Deal," she agreed happily. _

_ "We'll play a game," Pan repeated. "A really fun game. I call it target practice. But if you want to play, we have to take care of your parents first." _

_ "Yes! I want to play!" Kyra cheered. "But why do Mama and Papa need taking care of?" _

_ "Don't worry about it, my princess," Pan replied, bending down to ruffle Kyra's hair. "Let me take care of it for you." The next day, Pan fulfilled his promise. I can still remember waking up in the morning, the house strangely silent. I walked to my parents' room curiously when I didn't see them busy around the house. Mama and Papa were always awake before me. I walked in. It was a battlefield. The mirror was shattered on the floor, drawers ripped out of the dressers and thrown across the room. The window had been smashed wide open, and the lovely white curtains, the ones Mama had picked out at the market place, were stained with crimson. It was a cacophony of colors and lack thereof, a pounding that mounted in my head as I made my way over to my parents' bed. They were lying in bed with the covers thrown off, lips stained cherry-red with blood, faces pale and heavy under the flattening gray weight of death. _

_ Pan had taken care of my parents. Just like he later took take care of my magic. _

_ Just like he now wanted to take care of me. _

_ His princess. _

_ My lips stained cherry-red with the blood I tasted on Pan's lips whenever he kissed me. _

_ My face heavy with loss as I watched Felix drift farther and farther away from me. _

_ A bittersweet sorrow, a half-remembered song tugging at me. _

_ Calling me away. _

_ Like the sound of Pan's flute. _

_ I could hear it now, even though I was asleep. It cut through the realms of dreams and took me in its arms. _

_ Carrying away everything and everyone I loved in a surging flood of icy water that chilled me to the bone and swept me far away. _

_ Somewhere far, far away. _

_ Yes, even in my sleep I heard Pan's flute. _

_ Calling me somewhere far away._


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Sorry for the wait. I was going to write this on Thursday, but I got sick at school and my mother freaked out and rushed me to the doctor's office. Don't worry, I'm fine. So then I wrote this on Friday... but when I e-mailed it to my amazing editor, Iris, it was a day late because I didn't write it on Thursday. So, yeah, sorry. Happy Easter, to everyone who celebrates it! There will be another chapter tomorrow! **

**Quote of the day: "So if you're not the one****, ****how come I get lonely when you're not around?****I'm in trouble when you hold me now.****With or without you I feel alone.****So if you're not the one****, ****how come you're the one?****How come you're the one?****The faster I run from you,****the closer I get to you.****We're lost in a million ways****, ****but it still feels like home." **

**- Aloha From Hell, **_**"How Come You're The One" **_

The music wasn't part of my dream. It jolted me awake, and I was trembling all over. Princess. Princess. Princess.

Even though I was sure Pan was nowhere nearby, I could hear his voice calling me, as if through the other side of a door. Princess. Faint. Muted. But it was there. The music rose and fell gently, sometimes strong and proud, other times barely even there. Wavering.

I had no plans to get up, but my feet made the decision for me. Though my brain was still half-asleep, I felt myself stretch, rising onto my toes to loosen my calf muscles. Just like I did every morning. But this time I wasn't in control. It was him. He was in control. Pan. The music surged though my brain, forcing me to walk through the woods. Towards the camp. Towards the music.

It was a forced march, step, step, step, trudging on to the rhythm of the song. The endless jungle blurred together into a mass of green, and the only noise I could hear was my rasping breath, and of course the music.

I could see firelight flickering among the foliage, and somewhere inside my mind I realized I was at the Lost Boys' camp. But I did not process that. Something else, not my brain, was making the decisions for me, decisions based on pure instinct. I came upon the edge of the camp, the last line of trees before the clearing.

There was someone standing in my way, a boy, his back to me, lounging casually. If he had been in the modern world, he would've had his hands in his pockets, but instead he was nonchalantly blowing across some strange set of pipes. The music in my head faded away slightly, but I could somehow still hear it playing. Weird.

"Hello there," I said, my voice echoing from somewhere far away. "Where's the party?" I laughed at how funny my voice sounded, and the boy spun around, lowering the instrument slightly. Suddenly I recognized him.

"Hi, Peter," I said. I rubbed my lips with my index finger. "Your lips are always cold, you know." Pan chuckled.

"You sound drunk, princess," he said. I put my hands on my hips.

"That's not very nice," I said. "Do you know Felix? He's a boy, just like you." I laughed again. Now that I thought about it, Peter and Felix were so similar. They were both boys!

"I need to tell him something," I said absently, stumbling closer to the camp and looking towards the fire. "Do you remember what I needed to tell him? I think it was important." The world spun around me, and I lost my balance, tumbling towards the ground. I was falling. But a pair of arms wrapped around my waist, dragging me roughly back to my feet. Someone was close behind me, so close their chest was pressed against my back, and I could feel their cool breath on my ear. A sudden rush of iciness swept through me, and I felt myself shudder.

"Careful there, princess," Pan breathed, his lips brushing my ear.

"Oh, let go of me!" I protested, slapping at his hands. "I can walk just fine." Pan slowly loosened his iron grip, and I pulled away, flipping him off as I stumbled further into the clearing. The bonfire burned brightly, a crowd of teenage boys dancing in front of it, cheering wildly. I grinned and laughed along with them, but I didn't dance. Even though I felt happy, even though I knew that I should be enjoying myself, something felt... off. Was I forgetting something? The music started up again, and I saw Peter playing his pipes out of the corner of my eye. The music told me, as clearly as if it had words, to relax and forget everything. But something... something was not right.

I caught sight of a tall, thin boy with scruffy blond hair, and I jerked my head sideways to look at him. He seemed familiar... oh, yes, he was the one I had been looking for. The one I had to tell about something. His name was Felix, right? Was he my brother? It was hard to remember. I walked over to him.

"Hi, Felix," I said cheerfully. He looked at me blankly, eyes cold gray. Whose eyes did they remind me of?

"Sorry," Felix said. "Do I know you?" I laughed.

"You're silly," I giggled. "You're my sister, remember? Oops, that's not right. I'm your sister. You're my brother." Felix just stared at me, eyes hard.

"I don't know you," he said after a long moment. "Go away, girl."

"Your eyes are wrong," I worried. "They used to be soft and gray, like bird feathers. Now they're all cold. Why are your eyes all weird?"

"Mind your own business, girl," Felix snarled, brushing past me. He went over to stand by the boy playing the pipes. Who was the boy who played the pipes? I couldn't remember anymore... it started with a 'P'. Felix gestured at me, and the Piper-Boy laughed, throwing back his head. Then he began to make his way towards me, pipes clutched in his left hand. And I didn't know why, but I sucked in a large breath of air, backing away nervously. Why was I afraid? There was a reason. I couldn't remember. I mastered my fear, stopping myself from backing away. There was no reason to be afraid, right? Right?

"Felix told me an interesting tale," he said. He opened his mouth to continue, but I held up a hand to stop him.

"Sorry to interrupt," I said. "But who are you again?" The boy stared at me in fascination.

"You don't remember?" he asked in shock.

"Would I be asking if I did?" I replied sardonically.

"My name is... actually, why don't you guess? It'll be a game," he said after a moment's pause.

"Is your name Pierre?" I giggled. "That would be a funny name. Your parents must have really hated you to give you that name." He chuckled.

"They didn't like me much," he admitted, smirking. I cocked my head to the side, confused. There was a name at the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't quite place it.

"I think I know a boy named Peter Pan," I murmured, deep in thought. The boy's smirk widened. "Wait..." I said. "You're Peter Pan!"

"Very good, princess," he praised, and an irrational shiver of fear ran down my spine. Why was I so scared of this boy? He was only a boy, after all.

"Now," Peter said. "Would you mind telling me why you think Felix is your brother?"

"Felix?" I asked in confusion. "Oh, right. Blondie. Well, he is my brother because of my parents. You see, when a man and a woman love each other very much-"

"Thank you, Kyra. That will be all," Peter said, smirking. He took a step closer, and I stared at him, curious.

"Why can't I remember anything?" I blurted out. "Has my memory always been this bad?"

"It's the music, princess," Pan purred. "It's freeing you." I crossed my arms, glaring at him stubbornly.

"I don't feel free," I exclaimed. "I feel drunk, like right now I'm an entirely different person than I used to be. But I can't remember who that person is."

"Maybe," Pan said thoughtfully. "The music is erasing your past so it can erase your problems. Your regrets. Your fears. See, that's what the music does. It gives you new life." Pan stepped even closer, and he was an inch away now, his eyes freezing me to the spot. I just looked at him, my breath frozen in my throat. There was a single moment, hovering in the air, hanging suspended, but Pan soon broke it. He leaned into me, kissing me insistently, locking his lips with mine, giving me no escape.. They were freezing cold... and it sent an icy tremble through me that felt so refreshing. I parted my lips slightly, and Pan sighed with satisfaction, leaning sideways to deepen the kiss. After a moment, he pulled back slightly, running his tongue over his lips, and I surprised myself by grabbing at his collar, yanking him back to me.

"Someone's eager," Pan whispered, hovering just a millimeter above my lips.

"Shut up, Pan," I replied. He chuckled and leaned in again, this time his movements harsher and more insistent. Pan bit lightly at my lips until I sighed with pleasure. Then he gripped me around the waist, shoving me against a nearby tree with so much force the breath was knocked out of me. Pan brushed his lips against my jaw, slowly approaching my mouth, but at the last second I turned my head away. Pan froze instantly, and we hovered motionless in that awkward position, him leaning over me and me almost crushed underneath him, breathing heavily.

"Why?" he whispered. "Why not?" I just shook my head. It didn't make any sense, but I felt dirty. I felt disgusted with myself for kissing Pan. But why? Pan moved forward as if to kiss me, but I shuddered in revulsion and he stopped.

"This is all wrong," I murmured. I felt tears prick at my eyes. A single teardrop trickled down my cheek, falling in the small space between me and Pan. As I watched it fall, the memories came rushing back. All of them. The good, the bad, and the ugly. And the nightmarish memories, the ones I had wanted to forget.

"You," I hissed at Pan, narrowing my eyes. "You. Get the hell off of me you dirty bastard!" I shrieked as the pain raced through me, the pain that told me just how furious I was at Pan, just how much I wanted to slit his throat, right then and there. Right now I wanted to murder Peter Pan. But the pain. It crowded into my head, and I screamed. The Lost Boys didn't care, if they even heard me. They were yelling too, cheering savagely as they danced around the fire.

Pan slowly released me, and I slid down the tree trunk, crumpling to the ground in a heap. I sobbed into the dirt, clutching at my head. The pain. It was all I could feel, the pain and the anger. No, not anger. Not even hatred. Loathing.

"I hate you!" I yelled at Pan. He crouched down next to me.

"Really," Pan said, amused. "If you hate me so much, then why, when given the chance to free yourself from the anger over the amulet, did you kiss me?"

"You forced me!" I said weakly.

"You wanted it," Pan hissed darkly. I raised my head, staring at him. If looks could kill, Pan would've died, come back to life, and then died again.

"All I want," I said through my tears. "Is for you to go to hell right now."

Pan just smirked at me, "Oh, and the only reason you broke the spell of the music was because you cried. The tears of a Lost One. But Felix... he hasn't cried. Felix has no idea who you are. You can no longer interfere in my plans."

"So?" I cried. "Felix doesn't know me. If he doesn't know me, it doesn't matter if I'm dead. Just kill me then." I didn't want to die. I didn't. I needed to save Felix and keep Pan from getting the amulet. But at this point... death no longer seemed so horrible. Not good. But not horrible.

"Oh, princess. Why would I kill you?" Pan laughed quietly. "A good show needs an audience, after all. And the show is only just beginning."


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: OMG. OMG. That last chapter just killed me while I was writing it. Did it kill you guys too? Read and review, darling readers! Review... or I'll have to send Pan to rip your shadow off. Just kidding (Maybe). But please PLEASE review. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. :) **

**Oh, and by the way, BIG imaginary hug through the computer screen to my guest reviewer, Bravo. You made my day ten freaking times better!**

**"Fear has two meanings: forget everything and run, or face everything and rise." **

**-Unknown**

_Pan's POV _

What a stupid girl. Couldn't she see I was just toying with her? Oh, and what _fun_ it was, too. Kyra, poor, _innocent_ little Kyra, collapsed to the ground, whimpering as if someone had stabbed her. I shook my head, amused. Then I turned away, walking towards the boy Kyra had come here with. Felix.

"Felix," I said nonchalantly, standing next to him by the edge of the campfire, fingering my flute absent-mindedly.

"Pan," he replied respectfully, his gray eyes flicking towards me from underneath strands of dirty blond hair. I cocked my head thoughtfully, smirking as I watched Kyra cry silently by the edge of the clearing. Felix followed my gaze.

"What did you do to her, Pan?" Felix asked hollowly.

"Don't go soft now, Felix," I chided. "She is of no importance." And she wasn't. She was just a game. Right? I forced away the memory of the heat that had filled me when her body had been pressed against mine. Just a game, even it if it was a pleasant one.

"Yes, Pan," Felix mumbled, but his eyes lingered on Kyra. "I just can't shake the feeling that I know her from somewhere..." I forced a laugh.

"That would be impossible," I said. "She arrived here mere days ago, and you've been in Neverland for centuries."

"Yeah. Centuries," Felix muttered. "It would be impossible."

"Get a good night's sleep," I suggested, clapping Felix on the shoulder. "You're taking dawn patrol tomorrow."

"With the girl?" Felix said scornfully. "I thought Rufio and Loxias were accompanying her."

"Play nice, now," I replied, grinning. "I need Loxias for weaponry tomorrow, but you can still have Rufio." Then I strode to the center of the camp, so close to the fire I could have reached out and engulfed my hands in the flames. The boys shouted excitedly as they saw me in the middle of the clearing. They knew this meant something exhilarating was about to take place.

"All right, boys!" I yelled, baring my teeth in a wild smile as they cheered loudly in response. Kyra looked up slightly from where she sat, crumpled, by the roots of a tree. I grinned at her and she scowled bitterly. Shrugging, I turned back to the Lost Boys, whistling a sharp, clear note to quiet them. Silence immediately fell. A sea of dirty faces stared up at me expectantly.

"Time to play!" I shouted the customary words that signaled half of the boys to join in the fireside celebrations and the other half to do whatever they pleased in the woods. Yelling wildly, huge smiles decorating their faces, the boys jumped up. Many of them dashed immediately into the forest, whooping in joy while some boy- I thought it was Loxias- began to pound out a rhythm on the drums. As the boys danced around the fire, swirling around and laughing freely, I crossed my arms, leaning on my left leg as I watched them. In a while I would play my flute again, but just now I needed a moment to sort out my thoughts. I wasn't the only one who wasn't participating. Kyra, of course, was viewing the entire festivity with an air of detached skepticism. But what bothered me most... Felix wasn't joining in either. He was sitting on a log a distance from the fire, sharpening a knife meticulously. I frowned slightly, walking towards him Felix looked up curiously as I approached.

"Not joining in the festivities, Felix?" I asked, taking a seat beside him. Felix inspected the blade of his dagger nonchalantly, holding it up to the moonlight.

"Not in the mood for celebration," he replied. Felix apparently decided the knife wasn't sharp enough and returned to scraping a stone along it calmly. As he shifted position slightly to hold the dagger at a different angle, the amulet that hung around his neck swung forward. I almost forgot to breath as I stared at the amulet. It was beautiful- like nothing I had ever seen. Even the two amulets I had already collected did not compare. It was carved of some sort of silvery substance that was translucent, letting light pass through it. It was like silver, but somehow as see-through as glass. The amulet was engraved with the design of a roaring fire, but even as I watched the image shimmered, transforming into a waterfall sparkling beneath two bright stars. The necklace glowed with extraordinary power, soft lavender light that mesmerized me as it faded and then grew stronger in a flowing rhythm like waves against the shore.

"Pan?" Felix said questioningly, looking vaguely worried. I snapped my mouth shut, realizing it had fallen slightly open as I had been staring at the necklace. Even as I ripped my gaze away from it, I couldn't help but steal glances at it every now and then.

"I'm- fine," I told Felix, taking a deep breath and getting to my feet. "I just need to go... uh, check on something." I could practically feel Felix's eyes burning into my back as I walked into the jungle. After I had trekked on for a half hour or so, I rested against a tree, tilting my head up and studying the stars.

According to the prophecy, there were four amulets. One I had been given at birth- a gift from my ancestors, passed down since the dawn of time. Mine was the amulet that represented the magical properties of the world. It represented spells and enchantments, and since I was descended from the first sorcerer in the universe, magic had come naturally to me, especially after I inherited the magic amulet. When Tinkerbell had arrived in Neverland, I had been pleasantly surprised to see that she bore the second amulet- the one that represented nature. Kyra's amulet undoubtedly was a symbol of the third power, light and hope. But where was the fourth amulet? Where was the amulet that contained the powers of darkness?

I had to find it if I were truly to become the most powerful sorcerer in all the realms.

_The next morning, Kyra's POV_

Someone nudged me awake, kicking me with the toe of their boot. I slowly opened my eyes, and I saw Felix looking down at me.

"Felix?" I asked cautiously, hopeful that he was back to his old self. Hoping against hope that he would remember me.

"Get up, girl," he said coldly, eyes glaring daggers at me from beneath his bangs. "Dawn patrol. Pan's orders." Oh, right. On my first day here, Pan had assigned me to dawn patrol. It seemed like so long ago now... I nodded blankly at Felix, and he walked off without another word. A pang shot through me, and I bit my lip. Felix had no idea who I was. He didn't remember all these years we had been brother and sister, and I felt as though my heart was slowly freezing into a cold, empty shell of what it used to be. Groaning, I hoisted myself to my feet and looked around the camp. It seemed a lot safer in the morning light, but I couldn't let that fool me. A lot of the Lost Boys were still asleep, and the ones who were awake were talking quietly over breakfast, sleep still glazing their eyes. Pan was nowhere to be seen, and relief rushed through me. There was no way I could face him and his arrogant taunts after last night.

"Here," I heard Felix's voice from behind me. I turned around quickly, and he tossed me a dagger, thankfully still sheathed. I caught it easily, and Felix raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't know that girls could catch," Felix remarked with grudging admiration. I pushed away my sorrow and tried to pretend that this was just another Lost Boy. Just another one of Pan's followers, even though Felix tossing me that knife reminded me of the day we had broken into that farmhouse. The day Pan kidnapped us. Why couldn't I have listened to Felix and forsaken my life of thievery? Why did I always have to be so stubborn? It had cost us everything. But I forced myself to smirk at Felix as if he meant nothing more to me than a source of meaningless banter.

"Fortunately, I did know that boys are assholes," I replied brightly. "So I was prepared." Felix scowled at me, the hood of his cloak pulled low over his eyes. I frowned slightly. Felix never wore his hood up. He couldn't stand the feeling of cloth over his ears. But then, this wasn't the Felix I knew. Felix opened his mouth to reply, but another boy walked up, a boy with chocolate-brown hair that stood up in fluffy tufts and sleepy eyes. Rufio, I remembered. Rufio from target practice.

"Come on," Felix snapped at me, setting off into the woods. I exchanged a wide-eyed glance with Rufio, who shrugged and walked after Felix into the jungle. I followed him reluctantly, tucking the dagger into my belt.

"What, no breakfast?" I complained loudly, kicking at a pebble on the path.

"You may have breakfast _after_ we finish dawn patrol," Felix said tightly.

"According to who?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Pan," Felix and I said at the same time, him with a great deal of respect and me with disdain and a blatant eye roll. Rufio shot me a warning glance, shaking his head subtly, but was otherwise silent.

"Shut up, girl," Felix growled.

"The name's Kyra," I introduced myself cheerfully, feeling yet another pang that I had to introduce myself to my own brother. "Can I call you Fe-Fe?" Rufio grinned half-heartedly, but still didn't say anything. Quiet kid. To distract myself, I made it my newest mission to get him to say something.

"No," Felix said shortly.

"How about the Felixinator? Or maybe just Mr. Cheerful?" I suggested, snorting with laughter. Suddenly Felix stopped, spinning around and holding his dagger to my neck. It felt so, so wrong for my own brother to be holding a knife to my neck. I closed my eyes briefly, feeling a terrible wave of regret seep over me.

"Don't mess with me, girl," he said darkly. I swallowed and nodded, but the instant he turned around I scowled at him, flipping him off behind his back.

"Careful there," Rufio whispered to me, biting his lip to hold back a laugh. Mission accomplished. I had made him speak."He's got a pretty short temper."

"I know," I hissed fiercely. "He's my _brother_." Rufio gave me a strange, almost confused look, but I ignored him, swatting an overhanging tree branch out of my way.

"Whatever you say," Rufio said after a long pause, clearly not believing that Felix was my brother. "Just don't get on his bad side." I rolled my eyes. These boys literally had no sense of humor. Had Pan purposefully sent me with them because their lack of joking ability would haunt me in my nightmares for the rest of my life? Probably. Or he just wanted to emotionally traumatize me by sending me on a lengthy mission with a boy who had been my brother for years, except we weren't actually related, but only I knew that we weren't related by blood, and Felix didn't know, and now he had no clue who I was. How's that for emotional trauma? I felt like a monster for thinking so light-heartedly about this, but it was either laugh about it or curl up into a ball and never stop crying.

And, hey, laughter was the best medicine. That was how the saying went, anyway. I wasn't sure I believed it.

I was stumbling along behind the two anti-humor boys, lost in my thoughts, when I felt a sharp yank on my sleeve. I turned, surprised. But before I could see who had tugged on my sleeve, an arm slipped around me, tugging me backwards into the trees. I opened my mouth to scream, but my captor clamped their other hand over my mouth, silencing me. I kicked backwards furiously, lashing out, but the person just hissed in annoyance.

"Stop that!" a female voice hissed in a unfamiliar heavy accent. "You'll get us both killed." So it wasn't Pan. That much, at least, was reassuring. Whoever's grip it was that was imprisoning me was so tight I knew there was no getting out. So I stopped kicking, catching my breath and watching the two Lost Boys continue on dawn patrol, apparently not noticing that I had been snatched right out from under their noses. Finally, after a long moment, my captor released me, and I spun to face the mystery person.

For a minute we both just stood there in the shadows of the jungle as we took in each other. It was a young woman with sharp green eyes and frizzy blond hair that was piled into a loose bun and seriously needed a good brushing. I crossed my arms, raising an eyebrow inquiringly.

"I take it by the stealth mission that you're not working for Pan?" I said. The woman nodded slowly.

"Well- I do work for Pan, but not of my free will. And he doesn't know I'm here," she explained. Suddenly, I recognized her.

"You're that girl! Tinkerbell, right? Pan has your amulet!" I said.

"Yes," she confirmed. "And if you don't listen to me now, he will soon have your amulet as well." My eyes widened.

"Felix," I breathed. "Pan wiped his memory. It's turning him into a Lost Boy, isn't it?"

"Felix, the carrier of the amulet," Tinkerbell agreed. "There are two ways to accomplish what must be done. Return Felix's memories and convince him that Pan is evil, or convince Felix to give the amulet back to its rightful owner."

"Me," I said. I hesitated, staring at the dirt. Then I looked back up at Tinkerbell. "I need to get Felix's memories back. But I need my amulet back too."

"I understand," Tinkerbell said quietly, her green eyes soft.

"We'll get your amulet back, too," I said to her. "Now that there are two of us, we can do both."

"I hope so," Tink said sadly, as if she already knew there was no way out for her. "Are you ready to do what must be done?"

"Of course I am," I smiled. I had an ally. Tink grinned and began to explain her plan.

_Pan's POV _

It had been a good morning. I had Felix in the palm of my hand, and it was only a matter of time before he surrendered the amulet to me. And Kyra... oh, it was fun to taunt her. Just the memory of the expression on her face last night, after the spell of the flute was broken, brought a smile to my face.

All day I had been taking stock of the weaponry with one of the senior Lost Boys, Loxias. Then, as I was sharpening a particularly dull sword, I felt a strange burning sensation emanating from the hollow of my throat. Frowning, I reached up. It was my amulet- no, not just my amulet. It was Tink's amulet too, both of our amulets, burning against my skin. It throbbed with uncomfortable heat, and I quickly ducked out of camp, much to the surprise of Loxias and the few others working on sorting the weapons with me.

I sat down on a boulder a ways from camp, pondering what it could mean. The amulet had never shown any changes before. So what was different now? What had changed in Neverland, something that had always remained the same until now?

Well, Kyra was here, along with that blockhead brother of hers, Felix, and the amulet of light and hope. But if that was the cause, I would have felt it as soon as I brought them to Neverland. No, this was something different.

Then suddenly I knew, as if some divine being was whispering the truth into my ear. The fourth amulet had arrived in Neverland. The amulet of darkness was here.

_Kyra's POV _

I bid farewell to Tinkerbell and raced along the trail in the direction that Felix and Rufio had taken, praying they hadn't noticed my absence. I gasped as I felt a strange sensation of heat surrounding my neck. It wasn't burning exactly, wasn't even real warmth. It was just a shadow of a feeling, as if I should've been feeling something much more intense.

That's when it hit me. The amulet. I was experiencing some sort of phantom feeling from the amulet. But what did it mean? Had Felix already given Pan the amulet? I ignored my ragged breathing and increased my speed. Rounding a corner, I nearly plowed headlong into Felix and Rufio. They were stopped in the middle of the trail, Felix hunched over with a pale face and Rufio watching him, looking decidedly worried.

"Kyra? Where have you been?" Rufio asked.

"Just off in the woods," I dismissed the question with a wave of my hand, speaking between gasping breaths of air. "What's wrong with Felix?"

"Well- I don't really know," Rufio admitted. "He just sort of went really pale and mumbled something about burning."

"Burning around his neck?" I suggested

"Yes," Rufio said, shocked. "How did you know that?"

"I honestly don't know," I replied. "But there is one person on this island who undoubtedly knows the answer."

"Pan," Rufio supplied.

"Pan," I echoed.


	8. Chapter 8

_The Enchanted Forest, A Long Time Ago_

I coughed, my throat uncomfortably dry. My mouth tasted bitter, like sawdust, and my skin prickled with goose bumps. It was cold, terribly cold, and my breath fogged the air in front of me, transforming it into patches of white mist. Looking around anxiously, I waited for my blurry vision to clear and my memory to function once again. Ah, yes. Peter Pan. My parents. Maleficent.

"Mama. Papa," I sobbed quietly, feeling the weight of the world crash down on my six-year-old shoulders. Mother... Father... how could they be gone? They were the pillars that held up the world. Without them, I was lost. No. No. This couldn't be happening. I could just go to sleep and this would be a bad dream. I would wake up and run into Mama and Papa's room. They would stroke my hair and wipe away my tears, saying _shh, shh, it was just a dream_. Just like they always did. They were always there, and they always would be. Just like mountains. Everything else faded away with time, but not Mommy. Not Daddy. They told me they would be here for me forever. They lied! The tears running down my face just made me colder, and I huddled into a little ball, hugging my knees to my chest. Peter Pan had said he was going to take care of my parents. So how come they were dead? He had promised to take care of them! I didn't understand. Then I had run away, running through the woods, not knowing where I was going. Just knowing that I had to find a new world. Because there was no way I could live in that big house, so empty without Daddy and Mommy. Until that strange lady had found me. Maleficent. I didn't like her. She had eyes that scared me, and she smelled funny. Like a graveyard. Then Maleficent had brought me here, to her castle, and that was all I could remember... where was I?

Sitting up with an uncertain sniffle, I blinked shadows out of my eyes, and looked around. Not that there was much to see. Maleficent had me locked up tight in this little stone room. No doors except the formidable metal hatch on the wall opposite the window. One window that let in shafts of dreary gray sunlight. A gray day, just like how I felt. I blink again, my eyes slowly adjusting to the semi-darkness. A single oil lamp burned in one corner, and I made out a shape that resembled a cot, but that was it. Lonely.

Feeling my way around the room, I slid my fingers across the grimy wall, searching for a crevice, a crack, an edge, anything. Nothing stuck out in the least, no secret door or hidden compartment. So I sat back down again, crossing my arms, staring listlessly at the window. When Maleficent found me late last night, a little girl wandering aimlessly without her parents, she had said a lot of meaningless words that I had mostly ignored, and then dragged me to this dungeon when I wouldn't speak. She was impatient now, I could hear her pacing just outside my door. She scared me. She thought I was broken, but seemed determined to fix me. I didn't need fixing. I was not broken. I honestly wasn't. True, I would never heal completely. The world seemed darker without my parents. I couldn't believe they were gone. The pain of it echoed in my ears like a clap of thunder, still reverberating a long time after its initial boom. I opened my eyes and closed my eyes. Open and close. Open. Close. Honestly, I was not sure if I could get up again. Slowly, though, the light grew brighter until I couldn't ignore it even with firmly closed lids, so I rose to my feet and looked around. Not at the room, no, I had already done that. At life. Everything woke up and continued on just like any other day, but it was not any other day. It was today. Today was the day after my parents' death. Today was my first day as an orphan.

Suddenly, a smell hit my nose. It was slightly bitter and slightly spicy and filled with the richness of melted butter. Rye bread, my favorite from home. _Home. Mommy. Daddy_. Pushing the memory of home out of my mind, I turned to see a steaming tray of magnanimously buttered rye toast resting on the ground, where only air had been seconds earlier. Magic? It was strange, and it made my spine prickle uncomfortably. I stared at it a moment warily, not actually sure if I wanted to eat it or not. If I did it would taste like sawdust in my mouth. Just as I turned my head away, the scary metal door creaked open and I looked up anxiously, expectantly.

"Good morning, Kyra," Maleficent said cheerfully.

"No, it isn't," I countered obnoxiously, sticking out my bottom lip, pouting defiantly. It was most certainly _not_ a good morning. Quite the opposite. Maleficent coked her head to the side for a moment before wisely deciding to ignore my snide comment.

"You should really eat, Kyra, dear," she said, picking up the tray gracefully and holding it out to me. I looked at the plate and looked at her and looked back at the plate. She didn't move, didn't even blink, so I reluctantly picked out the smallest piece of bread and slipped it between my palms like it was a frightened animal that needed to be cradled and comforted.

"Good girl," Maleficent praised, setting the tray back down. Scowling, I chewed morosely on my tiny slice of bread. I was right, it did taste rather like sawdust. Or maybe cardboard. Did it make a difference either way?

"What do you want?" I asked in a small voice. Maleficent just smiled at me, reaching over to ruffle my hair.

"I just want to be your Mother," she said gently. "The wicked, wicked boy killed your parents, didn't he, Kyra?" I nodded sadly.

"Peter Pan," I said miserably. "I hate him. He said he wanted to play."

"I'm sorry about your parents, dear," Maleficent said. "But I can be your new mother." I thought about it. She was strange and something about her seemed off, but she was nice to me. Nicer than Peter.

"Okay," I replied tentatively. Maleficent took my hand gently and pulled me to my feet, guiding me towards the door.

"Well, then, Kyra," she said briskly. "Let's get you some proper clothes. Not to mention getting you out of this nasty cell..." I stumbled slightly as we walked, and the necklace my mother had given me pull forward. Maleficent stared at it, face pale, suddenly frozen in place.

"Are you okay?" I questioned worriedly. She blinked rapidly, breaking out of the trance.

"Yes, yes," she said hastily. "It's just... what a lovely necklace you have."

"Thank you," I smiled at her, not realizing Peter Pan had said almost exactly the same thing the day before. The day when we met on the hillside. The day he asked if I wanted to play a game.

xxx

It was a lovely room, big and airy with a vaulted ceiling and thick oaken rafters. The walls were painted with painstakingly detailed purples roses, a maze of flowering vines that arced across the wall. A silver chandelier was suspended over the center of the bedroom. A bed worthy of royalty with an intricate canopy lined one wall, while the opposite side of the room was taken up by an immense wardrobe, a fancy wooden chest, and a dresser with a curved mirror attached to it. I walked over to the mirror, staring open-mouthed. I had never seen a mirror before, only heard about them in stories. They were expensive, unthinkably valuable. And now I had one... all to myself. Maleficent had given me this grand room as my bedroom. She was a nice lady, even if she was a bit strange.

Looking down, I frowned at the outfit Maleficent had laid out for me on the dresser. It was an ebony-black dress with lace sleeves and a full skirt that was gathered at my waist, perfectly complementing my figure. But this wasn't my style at all. I remembered something Maleficent had told me but... she said the amulet Mommy had given me was full of magic. Maybe magic could turn this stupid dress into something I would like better. Clutching the amulet with one hand, I rested my other hand on the dress, shutting my eyes tightly and resisting the urge to peek. _Okay..._ I concentrated deeply, my face set in a determined scowl. _I don't want this dress... it's ugly... I want something else to wear..._

I opened my eyes a crack, then they flew open in surprise. I did it. I had turned the odd dress into something else, a simple black tunic with charcoal leggings and knee-high leather boots. I pulled the outfit on quickly, then combed my hair with my fingers, trying to make myself as presentable as possible.

"My name is Kyra Skylar. Peter Pan killed my parents. Maleficent rescued me. I have a magic amulet. My name is Kyra Skylar," I whispered, staring into the mirror at my reflection. It was the first time I had ever seen myself, and I was a bit shocked at what I saw. Green eyes, dark hair, and pink lips. A round face with somber eyes and slightly pointed ears. I believed it. This was who I was.

I heard the door to my room open, and Maleficent strode in briskly, her shoes clicking loudly on the stone floor.

"Kyra, dear," she began only to stop immediately, gasping when she saw me. "Your clothes..." Maleficent murmured in shock. I smoothed down the tunic, gazing at her hopefully.

"Do you like it?" I asked.

"Like it?" Maleficent asked. "It's wonderful! But how...?"

"The amulet. It's magical," I explained proudly. "Just like you said."

"But she has learned nothing of magic..." Maleficent muttered to herself, turning away slightly. "To cast a complex spell with absolutely no training... the amulet must be powerful indeed... and the child herself unfathomably talented..." Then she turned back to me, breaking out of her thoughts abruptly.

"Tell me, darling, did Pan teach you any magic?" she demanded. Maleficent sounded almost angry. Why would she be angry? She had said not moments before that she loved my clothes!

"N-no," I stammered out, wringing my hands, my bottom lip quivering. "Why are you mad?" Maleficent knelt down in front of me.

"Oh, I'm not mad at you, Kyra," she said softly. "But you must stay away from Pan. He is a wicked, wicked boy, and you must never go near him."

"Why would I? He killed my parents," I pointed out, confused. Maleficent stood up swiftly, a shadow crossing her face as she turned back towards the door.

"Yes, of course," she agreed hastily. "Silly me. I'm always making mistakes like that... a bit forgetful, you know..."

"Maleficent," I called out just as she reached the door. She paused, hand on the doorknob, giving me a strained smile over her shoulder.

"Yes, darling?" Maleficent asked.

"Can I call you Mella?' I asked.

"Of course," she replied, her face softening. "I will teach you magic, Kyra, beginning tomorrow. Why don't you get some sleep now?"

"Yes, Mella," I said dutifully. Then Mella was gone, out the door. I went straight to bed as I was ordered and never thought twice about that conversation.

If I had, I would have realized that Maleficent was trying to keep me away from Pan. I would have realized that Maleficent held a secret, and Pan was somehow caught up in it. She didn't want me near him so he wouldn't tell me the truth.

But I didn't think about. I forgot about that conversation until years later, when I realized what she had been hiding. And more than anything, I wished I could've gone back in time and run far away from Maleficent, the woman who became my mother, my master, my teacher, and my guardian.

_Neverland, Present Day_

Most people came to Neverland on Pan's orders. If not, they were sent there by Rumpelstiltskin. After all, it was the Dark One's favorite place to send those who were in need of punishment. And Pan was more than happy to oblige and provide them with endless years of suffering.

But this person was someone Pan had never anticipated ever seeing again. She only looked to be in her mid-twenties, but she was so much older.

Centuries old.

Her blond hair tumbled down her back in wild curls, pinned roughly back from her face by a jagged crown that shimmered darkly with strange, gray-black light. Normally her eyes were soft lavender, but when she became enraged her irises turned blue. And now they were blue, dark blue, navy blue, almost black. She was angrier than she had ever been in her long life.

Someone had stolen her apprentice, and she intended to get her back.

All that stood in her way was a pathetic teenage boy and his mindless followers.

And she had the amulet of darkness.

What chance did Pan stand?

_Neverland, Present Day, Kyra's POV _

"Pan!" I yelled into the jungle, my fists clenched tightly. "I want answers!"

"Oh, really," said Pan's amused voice from behind me. "I thought you wanted questions." I turned around, glaring daggers at him. He was leaning against a tree, just like he always seemed to be doing (did he have a thing for trees or what?), giving me his trademark smirk. Like literally trademark. He could probably have it copyrighted. _"Published by the Peter Pan Publishing Company, copyright 456 A.D." _Or whenever the hell Pan was born. Meanwhile, Felix stood off to the side, watching this spectacle with a faintly surprised look on his face. Rufio just looked kind of out of it, like he always did.

"Nice," I replied sarcastically. "What is with my throat burning?"

"Perhaps you're really, really thirsty?" Pan suggested innocently. I shot him a nasty look, and Felix stepped forward.

"I felt it too," he said, touching the amulet that hung around his neck, _my_ amulet, with a slight frown. "I think it came from this amulet." Pan's eyes instantly fixed on the amulet, just like they always did whenever Felix was around. It was a hungry, terrifying gaze that didn't seem to bother Felix in the slightest.

"From a mere necklace, you say," Pan scoffed, pretending to be scornful. He held out his hand towards Felix. "Let me see it." Wait... what? Was Pan just asking Felix to give him the amulet? That was like asking Felix to rip out his own heart and give it to Pan. Unthinkable. I cried out, panic rising inside me. I couldn't let Pan get that amulet. But Pan just flicked his hand towards me absent-mindedly, and I immediately froze in place, unable to move a single muscle, not even to blink. No. No. There was no way I was just going to sit here, helpless, as Pan took the magical amulet from my brother. But there was nothing I could do but stand there and watch.

"Oh, don't worry your pretty little head about it, princess," Pan told me cheerfully, casting me a dark glance. "I'll deal with you later. Right now I need to have a chat with Felix." Felix barely even seemed to notice that I was there, or that Pan had frozen me to the spot. He just fingered the amulet uncertainly, seemingly torn between giving Pan the amulet or keeping it.

"The amulet, Felix," Pan insisted.

"I... don't know," Felix replied uncertainly. "It was my mother's before she died. I promised to her that I would never take it off. It was her dying wish." So that was just how much the magic of Pan's flute had changed Felix's memory. He had memories of a mother neither of us had ever had. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't even do that, motionless as Pan's magic held me.

"But I could figure out why it burned your neck," Pan practically purred. Felix bit his lip, stumbling a bit as nervousness increased his usual clumsiness.

"All right," Felix finally said, reaching for the chain of the necklace to lift it over his head.

But he never pulled it off. The instant Felix touched the chain, a bolt of gray-black magic leapt forum the amulet, burning his hands. Yelping, Felix snatched his hands back, staring at the amulet in confusion. Pan looked on with narrowed eyes, a look of deadly fury on his face. For once, I was not on the receiving end of his anger, and I was relieved. Judging by Pan's expression, he was furious enough to murder. My blood ran cold when Pan's gaze slid to me and he stalked forward, drawing his dagger from his belt.

"You wouldn't have anything to do with this, would you, princess?" he growled softly, resting the point of the dagger under my chin. Pan raised the knife ever so slightly, forcing my chin up with the flat of the blade. I could only stand there as he reached out with his other hand, brushing his icy fingers across my cheek gently before dragging his thumb painfully down the side of my face, pressing into my skin with his fingernail.

"What to do with you... the little girl who tried to protect her brother... the girl who thought she could defy me and live to tell the tale..." Pan said thoughtfully. "Oh, that's an easy one." But it wasn't me. I didn't try to stop you. I wish I could have. I would have, but you froze me. It wasn't me who stopped you. I wanted to scream it out loud, but I was still frozen like a statue. No able to move the smallest muscle. There no stopping Pan now. Not when his mind was set on revenge.

He leaned in close to my face, his lips lightly bushing my cheek, sending a prickle of terror through me. Then Pan stepped forwards, lowering the dagger and simultaneously grabbing my chin harshly, his fingers digging into my jaw. He shoved my head up so quickly my neck whipped back painfully, but Pan gave me no time to recover. Eyes wild with rage, Pan smashed his lips against mine, kissing me swiftly and harshly, a gesture full of bloodlust. He tilted his head sideways, leaning in closer, pressing against me and biting painfully at the corners of my lips. Then Pan was pulling away and brushing his lips over my ear.

"You broke the rules," Pan hissed into my ear. "Believe me when I say that the short remainder of your life will be excruciatingly painful." I couldn't respond to him, even if I had wanted to, frozen as I was, but Pan didn't need that. It was all him. Him and his revenge. I heard Rufio hiss in disgust and sympathy, but there was nothing but silence from Felix until he spoke up.

"Pan, it couldn't have been her," Felix called out. "You froze her in a spell. There's no possible way she could've escaped your magic."

"It seems the little brainwashed puppy is right for once," said someone else. It wasn't Felix or Rufio or Pan. So who was it? Another Lost Boy? It was a person, draped in a cloak that shimmered between black and gray, stepping out of the trees, materializing from the shadows of Neverland's jungle. They threw back the hood of their cloak, and I saw who it was. Someone I recognized. Someone who, I noticed for the first time, wore an amulet around their neck. Mella. Maleficent stared at Pan coldly.

"It wasn't Kyra who stopped you from taking the amulet," Mella said with icy anger. "It was me."

"Interesting indeed..." Pan remarked, his smirk returning, looking at me with amusement. "It seems my punishment was unjustly administered. I apologize, princess. Still... can't have you causing trouble. I'll just let you stay in this... hmm, condition for a while until I've killed Maleficent and have both their amulets around my neck."

"That's not going to happen, dear," Mella laughed chillingly.

"Oh, and I suppose you're going to stop me?" Pan raised an eyebrow arrogantly.

"Yes," Mella spat. "Now get the hell away from my step-daughter."


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Short chapter, I apologize. But the next chapter will be much longer, and all hell will break loose in that chapter. Thanks so much to my wonderful reviewers, fruitylooper, meguhanu, Fairyfinder, Lady of the Witty, YellowFlash67, and my guest reviewer. Also, gotta clear up a question. Kyra is pronounced "keer-uh". The first part rhymes with deer. Please read and review! **

As Pan's hands began to glow with eerie emerald light, magic that grew brighter by the second, his spell on me began to weaken. Perhaps it was because his attention had been diverted, but I could move a bit now. Not much, but enough to do what needed to be done. I had a plan. It was a long shot, but it was all I had. And if Tinkerbell came through with her part of what we had agreed on... I had a shot at defeating Pan.

"Felix," I hissed out of the corner of my mouth, fervently hoping that Pan didn't notice me moving and recast his immobility spell. Felix, leaning up against a tree with folded arms and a bored expression, shot me a withering glance. Though he had his tough-guy attitude on, his face was still pale from the burning amulet incident. And Felix was only wearing one amulet... I shuddered to think how much pain Pan must've felt because he was wearing two. Then I caught myself shuddering and my thought process pretty much went like this: _What the bloody hell is wrong with me?_ Of course I didn't care if Pan was in pain. The smartass deserved it.

"Felix," I said again, slightly louder. Again, he completely ignored me. What an imbecile. I guess the dumb blond thing didn't only pertain to girls. Meanwhile, Mella and Pan were continuing their little friendship circle thing, bantering back and forth.

"Do you have any idea who the girl really is?" Mella taunted Pan, circling him slowly. Pan just smirked at her, raising an eyebrow confidently.

"Naturally. She is Kyra Rowena Luciana Skylar," Pan answered easily, leisurely slouching to the side as he watched Mella's dark pacing with a knowing grin. I was pretty sure I had never told Pan either of my middle names.

"Stalker," I muttered, scowling. Then I gritted my teeth in frustration, casting another impatient glance at Felix. "Get your butt over here, buddy." For once, Felix actually spared me a glance, albeit an irritated one.

"What do you want, girl?" he snapped.

"You. Over here. Now," I snapped my fingers at him.

"Why would I listen to you?" Felix sneered. I mentally face-palmed. My entire plan of defeating Peter Pan depended on this idiot? I had to hurry up and get Felix to cooperate before Tinkerbell showed up. If she came before I was ready, we were all dead in the water. Though I knew Mella was a powerful sorceress, she only had one amulet. Pan had two, and would soon have three. Unless I stopped him.

"All you know of Kyra is her name?" Maleficent scoffed. "Pathetic. I would have expected more of such a famous sorcerer. Have you no idea who she truly is?"

"Oh, and you'll get more from me," Pan promised, his eyes darkening. "I know more of Kyra than you realize, Maleficent."

"Of course you do," Mella soothed mockingly.

"Just keep telling yourself that," I added in a menacing whisper, glaring daggers at Pan's back. Then I rolled my eyes. "Come on, Felix," I said in a harsh whisper, quickly thinking up a good lie. "Yesterday, Pan warned me something like this might happen. Pan himself gave me orders to stay by you in the event of such a thing." Felix eyed me dubiously, but he wasn't going to ignore orders from the Dark Lord himself. Even if they were fake orders I had invented on the spot. Strolling over to my side of the clearing, Felix gallantly performed his usual stumble-and-almost-fall stunt. I snickered, but the harsh look on his face warned me not to say a single word about it.

Okay. Now that Felix was next to me, it was time for Tinkerbell to fulfill her part of the bargain. Any minute now, Tink... I smiled sweetly at Felix, which he pointedly ignored. Jeez. Then I refocused on the two magic-wielding fiends in front of me. Did it always take wizards (and witches, let's not be sexist) this long to start dueling? They had been shooting cheap jibes at each other for so long they might as well have been teenage girls playing truth-or-dare.

"I know a lot about my princess," Pan said, shooting a darkly amused glance at me over his shoulder before turning back to Mella. "Just as an example, I know who murdered her parents in cold blood." My blood turned to ice in my veins, and my head was on fire with all the nasty words I wanted to scream at Pan. Of course he knew who killed my parents! He had killed them himself!

"Well, yes of course," Mella said hastily. "You killed them."

"Is that what you told her?" Pan asked, sounding so smug and content he might as well have been licking his lips like a cat.

"That's the truth!" Mella thundered. Felix shifted from foot to foot beside me. I looked sideways at him, and he was decidedly uneasy.

"We both know that isn't the case," Pan said. "Do you want to tell her or shall I?" Finally, I couldn't take it anymore.

"Stop talking about me like I'm not here!" I snarled. Pan just smiled briefly at me before raising an eyebrow at Mella.

"I'll tell her, then? If you insist," Pan said nastily, stepping towards me. By now his spell had completely worn off, and I took a step back, holding out my hands as if to fend Pan off.

"Oh, no no no no no," I said. "You aren't getting anywhere near me, Pan." Perhaps I shouldn't have encouraged him with that little statement, because Pan instantly vanished, reappearing behind me. Before as I could so much as blink, Pan's arms snaked around my waist, binding me tightly to him even as I lashed out, kicking wildly at his shins with the heels of my feet. Pan rested his chin on my head, his soft breath playing with my hair. By far, this was one of the most disgusting sensations I had experienced in my entire lifetime.

"On the contrary, princess," Pan said smoothly. "I think you'll like to have me nice and close after I share this piece of information."

"Whatever you say will be a lie," I growled. Pan only tightened his grip around my waist, his head bowing down slightly as he brushed his lips over the top of my head.

"Must you think so little of me?" Pan asked in amusement as I continued to struggle to free myself.

"She is right to think little of you," Mella spoke, stepping forwards. Her hands were clenched into fists, and she raised her hand, her palm glowing purple as she muttered the words to a spell.

"Ah!" Pan called out sharply, stopping Maleficent before she could cast her spell. "If you throw a spell at me, you'll hit Kyra as well. Although that won't matter to you, will it? You're already a murderer."

"What do you mean?" I demanded. Pan didn't answer, only chuckled darkly into my hair. "What does he mean?" I yelled at Mella. Her face was pale, her eyes a soft shade of lavender, the color they turned when she felt guilty or heartbroken.

"Someone give me an answer, goddamn it!" I cried. I wanted Mella to tell me. I wanted her to confess, to tell the truth, to give up this charade. But my answer didn't come from Mella.

"I think you know, princess," Pan breathed in my ear.

"No!" I yelled, my voice cracking. 'It can't be true! Tell me, Mella! Tell me it isn't true!"

"It is true," Mella admitted, staring at me with defeat in her eyes.

It couldn't be true.

But it was somehow.

Somehow it was.

Mella had done it, not Pan.

Mella, the woman I had loved like a mother, had killed my parents.

Just when I thought my life couldn't get any worse.

I stared at Mella in horrified disbelief, but all she could do was stare right back at me with sorrow-filled eyes.

"Why would you do that to me?" I choked out. Mella opened her mouth to reply, but Felix gave a shout of agony.

All three of us whipped around towards him, just as a blindingly bright burst of green light appeared in the clearing, shaking the ground. I couldn't help it; I lost my balance and fell to the ground, just as Tinkerbell appeared in the clearing amid the screams of a terrified Felix.

Then all hell broke loose.


	10. Chapter 10

There was a flash of green light, so bright it blinded me, and then it seemed to explode, expanding violently. Green light tumbled over the clearing like lava, and suddenly a massive gust of wind ripped across the woods. The strength of the gales swept me off my feet, sending me skidding across the cold ground until I finally slammed into the trunk of a tree. I groaned as I collided with its trunk, but I staggered to my feet, gripping the tree for support. If I didn't hold onto something, I would undoubtedly be blown away by the windstorm that had suddenly arisen.

Squinting up at the sky, I saw that black clouds circled menacingly overhead, seeming to close in on us as they roared with thunder. Lightning bit a jagged line across the sky, and I yelped in protest as another massive gust threatened to blow me away. I clung helplessly to the tree, wishing desperately that I had magic, that I could actually help. But I couldn't.

I could only watch as Tinkerbell went through with her plan and released this all-consuming storm of magic. I had been shocked when I learned that even though Pan had her amulet, she could still hurt him. Pan hadn't taken her magic like he had taken mine. He had simply taken the amulet itself, which was like taking the dagger from the Dark One. Tink could still attack him unless he explicitly ordered her not to. And since we had the element of surprise, Tink and I actually had a fighting chance.

_But what about Felix?_ Tink had warned me to stay near him. To protect him. Because otherwise, she might hit Felix with a spell meant for Pan. But in all the confusion... Felix was nowhere to be seen. And where was Mella? She was a wild card I had never counted on.

And she killed my parents.

Mella. Killed. My. Parents.

My thoughts were whirling around in my head as I desperately searched the maelstrom for anyone. It was useless. The green light, dark debris, and flashes of lightning completely cloaked the clearing. I felt as though I was utterly alone in this storm, utterly lost.

But no.

I couldn't say I was lost. I could never say that. Ever. Again.

Finally summoning my courage, I let go of the tree, fighting against the wind as I trudged towards the center of the clearing, my head bowed as I took painful step after painful step. Though I was slow, I would get there eventually. I had to.

A dark chuckle rose out of the storm, rolling over the whole forest with a resounding echo. A laugh more sinister than any I had ever heard.

"Who do you think she'll want to be with now?" I heard Pan say, sounding so utterly amused with this situation.

"I killed her parents to protect her," Mella spat back.

Suddenly, a flash of black-gray magic shot across the swirling emerald light. Pan laughed wildly, the attack not bothering him in the least. I couldn't see him, or any of them, but I could hear them. I could see their magic as it darted in deadly bolts, glowing as brightly as the lightning in the threateningly dark sky.

"There is no way to defeat me," Pan taunted Mella, and a jagged dark green exploded throughout the clearing. The ground shuddered at the force of Pan's magic, and a blood-chilling shriek cut through the air like glass, piercing my heart with icy shards. _Mella._

"Of course there is," Mella replied icily, this time her voice weak as she gasped for breath. "Everyone has a weakness. The only question is... what is yours?"

"Weakness is only for those who care about anything other than power," Pan scoffed. "And I don't."

There was only one thought that lingered in my mind. Find Felix. If I could get to him while Pan was distracted, I could get the amulet. Stumbling through the raging storm, I wandered blindly.

"Felix!" I called, my voice uncertain. "Felix?" I turned in a circle, feeling with hands for any landmarks, anything to tell me where I was. There was nothing, and I only lost my sense of direction even more. I took another blundering step in a random direction, but was stopped by a warm hand on my arm.

"Right here," Felix said in that emotionless voice that made me want to cry.

"Felix, I need you to give me that amulet," I said frantically. Felix's grip tightened on my arm, as if he was unsure what to make of this.

"Pan said to give it to him," Felix said flatly, releasing my arm.

"Please," I turned to face him, my eyes filling with tears. I studied his face, blurry though it was through the storm. Even though he couldn't remember me, I knew the boy I had grown up with was still in there somewhere. I knew the real Felix was there, somewhere beneath this facade. I believed. I believed in Felix. "Please," I whispered. "I know what it's like to be lost and alone. I know what it's like to lose a mother and a father, too. I know the pain you've gone through, because it's my pain too. So please. Help me. The only way I can save what's left of my family is if you give me that amulet."

Felix hesitated, reaching up to finger the amulet around his neck. His eyes were not cold anymore. No, they were just confused, that unfeeling layer vanished.

"Why should I trust you?" Felix asked, his eyes shining with pain.

"Because we're the same, you and I," I said softly. "We're both lost. We're both slaves to Pan. And we both had a family once." Felix looked at me, no hate or malice in his eyes, just... looked.

"I trust you," he said finally. Felix slowly curled his fingers around the chain of the amulet. It swayed in the wind as he pulled it over his head. Then he offered it to me, the necklace resting innocently on his palm as he held it out.

"Thank you," I whispered, taking the necklace and slipping it over my head.

"Go," Felix tilted his head in farewell. "Save your family."

"I will," I vowed, stepping into the storm, my bravery renewed. The amulet glowed warmly against the hollow of my throat, and a shiver ran through me. My blood seared with heat I hadn't felt for years. Not since that fateful day, the day Pan took my magic. But now... somehow, the amulet had returned my magic, restored it. I was no longer under Pan's control. He couldn't hurt me anymore, and I wouldn't let him hurt anyone I loved.

A radiant purple aura swirled around me, warding off all other magic, all the dark magic that swirled around me as Pan and Mella dueled. Because this was the amulet of light. Most people underestimated the power of light. They called it weak and useless. But what they didn't know was that the amulet of light judged your very soul. If you were pure, your heart full of light and innocence, it would protect you from any dark magic, no matter how powerful. I could feel the gentle warmth of the light magic soothing my wounds, reassuring my worries, refuting my fears with ease.

Now I could face Pan.

Now I was ready to take back everything he had stolen from me.

But Peter Pan wasn't finished with his reign of terror just yet.

And then there was screaming. Not just Maleficent, who was still futilely sending dark spells towards Pan. No, it was Tinkerbell too. Pan had caught her. I couldn't take this anymore. I couldn't take the suffering of my friends, of my family, of everyone I had ever loved.

"Tink, stop the spell!" I yelled over the raging wind. "Stop the storm!" Tink must have been in absolute agony, because the storm raged on with everlasting fury.

Summoning my magic, I raised my arms, holding them out like wings, tilting my head back towards the sky. Purple and white magic began to glow in my palms, cutting a path in the green mist as it swirled upward. But this was too slow... by the time I vanquished the storm, Pan could have killed both Tinkerbell and Mella.

So I remembered. I remembered my parents, soothing away my nightmares. I remembered Mella, smiling gently as she ruffled my hair and wiped my tears away. But most of all, I remembered Felix, laughing when I pretended to waltz with an invisible dance partner. I remembered Felix helping me limp the three miles back home after I broke my ankle during sword-fighting practice. I remembered singing some stupid song way too loudly with Felix, laughing like a complete idiot. I remembered Mella brushing my hair gently as she told me a story. I remembered all the people I loved, all the people I wanted to protect. I remembered why I was fighting the darkness, why I was fighting Peter Pan.

And I let the light magic swirl from my heart, sending a blindingly white flash of light across the clearing. Chasing the demons away. I smiled as I lowered my arms back to my sides, feeling the warmth pound heatedly in my chest.

The green mist swirled away, and all that was left was the storm overhead, the black clouds and lightning and thunder. And a debris-cluttered clearing, strewn with fallen trees and thorns.

Tinkerbell had collapsed onto her side, her breath stuttering unevenly. Mella was on her knees in front of Pan, her eyes wide with fear that she desperately tried to conceal. And Peter Pan himself... he was grinning wickedly at me, as though this was what he had expected all along.

"Oh, princess, I'm proud of you," he said smoothly. "I expected nothing less."

"Peter?" I said sweetly, walking towards him fearlessly. He raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, princess?" he asked. I let the sickeningly sweet smile fall from my face as I stopped walking, staring at him with disgust.

"Go to hell," I snarled flatly, thrusting my hand out towards him. Pan flew backwards as my magic slammed into him, flipping head over heels in midair before slamming into a tree. I snorted with satisfaction, smiling grimly.

"That's what you get for messing with people I care about," I spat. Then I turned towards Mella and Tink. Mella stared at me with sorrowful eyes, fingering the skin of her neck. Her unadorned neck. She no longer had her amulet.

"You lied to me," I said, hurt echoing through my voice.

"I was only protecting you," Mella insisted.

"Protecting me from what?" I yelled. "A happy life?"

"No," Mella replied wearily. "If I hadn't killed your parents, you never would have come to me for help. Peter Pan would have found you much sooner. If I hadn't killed your parents, you would be dead."

"Protecting me from Peter Pan, huh?" I scoffed. "Yeah, nice job with that."

"If I could go back-" Mella began. I raised a hand to stop her.

"No, you don't get to talk to me," I said. "Not after what you did. We have all done things we regret, and we can't go back. And telling me that you would if you could doesn't change a damn thing."

"I lost it," Mella said dully. "The amulet."

My blood froze in my veins. She had lost her amulet. Which meant Pan had three of the amulets... and I had exactly one. How could I defeat him? But I would have to try. I would have to protect this amulet from him at all costs.

Then I looked around apprehensively. Something wasn't right here. Beating Pan had been almost... easy. Too easy. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously when I saw that Pan was no longer where my magic had thrown me. Rufio was standing at the edge of the clearing, his eyes wide with shock, his mouth hanging open. In all fairness, the poor kid was going through some serious trauma. But... where was... Pan was missing... and where was... Felix?

A chilling laugh echoed behind me, a sound that made my skin crawl. Slowly, I turned around. Pan stood there nonchalantly, smirking smugly at me. And why wouldn't he be smug? Around his neck hung three of the four amulets. His blue-green eyes sparkled with sadistic pleasure as he laughed joyfully, an expression of pure exhilaration on his face. But he wasn't alone. Felix knelt in front of him, his head bowed as Pan held a knife to his throat. Felix. Holy shit.

"Pan, let him go or I will skin you alive," I snarled coldly. Pan's smile widened.

"You truly are beautiful when you threaten me," Pan remarked, running his tongue over his lips in a gesture that was the opposite of subtle.

"I mean it, Pan," I growled.

"That's the beauty of it!" Pan exclaimed. "But that's not the game, Kyra. You know how this game is played, and those aren't the rules." I sighed in defeat.

"What the hell do you want, Pan?" I demanded.

"The amulet, of course," he said.

That's what he wanted.

I had to give him the amulet, or Felix would die.

"Oh, and to sweeten the deal," Pan added. "If you give me the amulet without any fuss, I will let Mella, Felix, and Tinkerbell leave the island. Alive."

"And what about me?" I whispered, fingering the amulet that filled me with such comforting warmth. Would he let me leave Neverland?

"Princess, you should really know better," he bared his teeth in a feral imitation of a smile. "You have always been mine and always will be."

So that was it.

I could either stay on the island with Pan forever, when he had as much power as the Dark One. When he had all four amulets.

Or.

Or I could let Pan kill Felix, only to be forced into a battle against Pan that I would probably lose. And then I would die.

Knowing that I would regret it for the rest of my life, I made my choice.


End file.
